Archive for the 'Tempest Rising' Category

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!

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

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

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. ;-)

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

RT Schedule, UK Editions, and More!

So, I’ve had a ridiculously exciting week and to top it off, I get to fly out to Romantic Times tomorrow! Here’s my schedule for those also attending:

Wednesday: Find other Leaguers and snark

Thursday: Between snarking, attend Club RT at 11:00 AM

Friday: Much Snark, culminating in dinner with my Editrix, then a huge get together with all the Orbit writers attending RT.

Saturday: MONDO SIGNING from 11:00-2:00. I will sign anything, including babies. Especially if you bring me Guinness. In exchange, I will give you sweet, sweet, snark and . . . better yet . .  . check out THESE babies:

VAMPIRE HEART TATTOOS! I know you want one! So come and get ‘em!

In other, very exciting, news, Orbit UK has just picked up all three Jane True books! It was very important for me that they be released in the UK, as I wrote the first book in Edinburgh. So I am absolutely chuffed to bits. Here’s the link to Amazon.co.uk, with all the release dates! Tempest Rising and Tracking the Tempest will both be released in the UK on August 5th, 2010, and it looks like Tempest’s Legacy will only be a few days later than its US release, at January 6, 2011.

In looking these things up, I also spy on amazon.co.uk my German title! Tempest Rising becomes Nachtstürme: Roman in German. I think that sounds AWESOME. Like a death metal band wearing a toga.

Needless to say, I can’t wait to see all the European covers. Sooooo exciting.

Finally, I had a fantastic time in Houston with Gail Carriger and Jaye Wells. You can read all about it on Orbit’s site. Everyone who came out was awesome, the staff at Murder By the Book were absolutely stellar, and Jaye and Gail are great gals. It was wonderful to see them again and we had a really good time working together.

I’ll try to update from RT, and take lots of pictures, and try not to get too greasy on any baby oil slathered cover models. Gross! And yet bizarrely titillating! From what I hear they’re like slip and slides. Only bumpier.

Y’all go ahead and think on that. ;-)

Published on April 27, 2010 in Conventions, My Travels, Over at Orbit Books . . ., Signings, Tempest Rising, Tempest's Legacy and Tracking the Tempest. 15 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

“Jumping Jack Flash” Might Be Jane’s Missing Mother and League Pimpage

First of all, I am flexing my wrist in preparation of EXERCISING MY PIMP  HAND.

For the ever lovely and fabulous Dakota Cassidy’s new book, Accidentally Demonic, is out tomorrow!

I haven’t read this one, yet, but I’ve read all the other books in this series and they’re SO FUN. Dakota’s marvelous sense of humor shines, her characters are adorable, and these books are always fab reads.

So go forth and purchase if you already know and love Dakota. Or, if you’re looking for a new para rom series to embark upon, try the first in the series, The Accidental Werewolf:

As for me, I have been having a fabulous start of the semester. I much prefer teaching my ENG 115 class to the other freshman comp course, my night class is my favorite ENG 215 (so very little pressure for a lot of enjoyment), and Modern Poetry is turning out to be very manageable and enriching, for me, as a writer. In other words, my primary career is going very well, and the writing is fab, as well! I’m figuring out my plan of attack for editing Jane True book 3, Tempest’s Legacy, and I’ll start writing my edits soon.

In the meantime, however, I’ve been watching a lot of movies and series on my Netflix, and one of the movies that I was randomly inspired to order was the 80′s classic, Jumping Jack Flash:


I was OBSESSED with this film when I was a kid. I adored it. I can’t really describe how much I adored it, because it would be like me trying to explain how much I love my family . . . it became a part of me and I would give it my kidney if it asked politely.

This film came out in 1986, eight years after my birth. And watching it as an adult I can absolutely see where it had a HUGE influence on me and my writing.

First of all: the swearing. I swear like a pirate, this is true. My family is a family of swearers, in general, but I seem to have taken up the swearing mantle and run right the fuck off with it. Then I watched this film, again, and Whoopi has a mouth so potty it’s like a psych ward.

Second of all: my love of a non-traditional heroine. Where do I start with my admiration for this film, in terms of its heroine? First of all, Whoopi is BLACK. How many films can you name that star (entirely) an African-American, let alone an African-American woman? And that are mainstream? Even nowadays? Second of all, while I think Whoopi is an extremely attractive individual in this film, she is by no means your traditional blonde bombshell. She’s Whoopi, and she’s gonna wear some MC Hammer OVERALLS (cause the only think that makes Hammer pants better is some straps!), and dreads, and YELLOW REEBOKS and she’s not gonna give a fuck! For dress up, she caps off that outfit with a turban!

As a kid, I was blonde and blue eyed, but I was also way too smart, way too mature (in some ways), and already short and chubby. So I knew I was never going to be the leggy, doe eyed thing expecting some hero to come along and rescue her because even though she’s a bit of a bint, DAMN SHE IS PHOINE.

In other words, I was looking for films that expressed my solidarity with the outsider, the underdog, the eccentric, for those who “sang his didn’ts” and “danced his dids.” For the most part, however, I was getting Melanie Griffith. And, while I love me some Working Girl, I knew that while my brain was going to be all about sin, my bod would, at best, most likely suggest white-collar misdemeanors or parking violations.

So Jumping Jack Flash was a revelation. I wanted to be Whoopi: a woman who was strong because she was smart, passionate, and brave, not because she’s beautiful and manipulative or, like Red Sonja, beautiful and ‘roided right the fuck out.

On watching the film as an adult, as well, I clap at how it handles “the issues.” Whoopi is constantly being told she’s not welcome because of her gender, her skin color, and her class. But she enters anyway, on her own terms, and uses her enemy’s cultural expectations against them. If they expect an African-American woman to be a singer, by golly she’ll dress up like a Supreme. She’ll give them what they expect, in an unexpected way, to get what she wants from them. If they expect a woman to be weak, delicate, and easily victimized, she will BITE HER WOULD-BE EXECUTIONER IN THE NADS. Cuz that’s what she does! Bites him! In the nads! I think this is partly why the film, despite being over twenty years old, hasn’t aged. Okay, the computers look a bit silly, but the real story is based on Whoopi’s character. And she is both ageless and paradoxically original, for Hollywood, it seems to me, has actually gone backwards in terms of its depiction of real women of any race.

My final plea: If you haven’t seen this film, please do. I think you’ll see some of Jane True in it, and you’ll definitely have a good time. Watch out for the giant toothbrush!

Published on February 1, 2010 in Movies, Pimpage!, Reviews and Tempest Rising. 7 Comments Tags: , , , .

Ich Bin Swimming!

Our terribly awesome dayIn exciting news, Tempest Rising is coming out in both Italy (from Newton and Compton) and Germany (from Heyne Verlag). This means that my words will be translated into Italian and German, making me fantasize that I will learn to speak both languages fluently through some sort of process of osmosis. My agent says this is unlikely, but a girl can dream!

I’ve also been busy over at some other blogs. For Philip Palmer’s awesome blog series on SFF inspired music, I’ve introduced you to why I love a “Sea Lion Woman” as much as I love a seal woman.

And over at the Orbit Books blog, Gail Carriger’s Alexia and my own Jane have been nattering away again. The results are rather adorable. Those two are such cards!

Published on January 27, 2010 in Coming Soon!, Over at Orbit Books . . ., Tempest Rising and Urban Fantasy. 6 Comments

Young/Old Sherlock Holmes

In 1985, when I was seven, there came a movie that would be my obsession for many a year: Young Sherlock Holmes.

I adored everything about this movie. The special effects were, at the time, out of this world. The story was amazing. And I already loved Sherlock Holmes.

This will be a shocker to (none of) you, but I was raised on PBS. So I was already well familiar with Holmes, as played by Basil Rathbone, and I was becoming increasingly familiar with the Sherlock who will forever remain my quintessential Sherlock, Jeremy Brett. He first played Holmes in 1984, and, for me, he will always be the closest Holme’s to Conan Doyle’s ever created.

Watching Young Sherlock Holmes, then, offered a lot of insight into the depictions of Holmes I already knew: how he came by his method, why he wasn’t married, etc. But there was thing that bothered me. Granted, the young Sherlock Holmes was, indeed, young, but he also has so much energy in that film. He’s so alive, and physical, that I couldn’t see him growing up into the Holmes I “knew” from television.

And that’s where the newest incarnation of Sherlock Holmes comes into play. I went and saw it recently, and I adored it. It’s great fun, with amazing visuals, and RDJ and Jude Law have fantabulous chemistry together.

But what I really loved about that film is that this new Sherlock Holmes is the clear sequel to that movie I loved as a child, the Young Sherlock Holmes; Robert Downey Junior’s Holme’s is that little boy (whom I admit I had a bit of a crush on) all grown up.

That certainly wasn’t Guy Ritchie’s intention when he made the film, and he probably never even saw Young Sherlock Holmes. But that’s what the film felt like, to me. And that’s why, even without the bustles and the carriages and the like I would have loved it. That same energy and joy that infused the character of young Sherlock Holmes is in this Sherlock Holmes, and it made the film a pleasure to watch.

 

And in Other News . . .

 

Locus has weighed in on Tempest Rising, saying, “From small-town hijinks to otherworldly intrigue, this is a fun start to a new series, and a promising first novel.”

And finally, for those of you in the San Francisco Bay area, I will be attending this public event, at Borderlands Books,  hosted by io9.

Published on January 6, 2010 in Appearances, Movies, Reviews and Tempest Rising. 6 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Charlaine Harris on Tempest Rising

As some of you know, the book that inspired me to write Tempest Rising was Ms. Harris’s fifth book in the Southern Vampire Mystery series, Dead as a Doornail:

This was not the first urban fantasy I’d ever read, although when I was reading the genre that name did not exist. When I was a child, it was simply a weird sort of fantasy being published by Charles de Lint and Mercedes Lackey. Back then, to find Anne Rice, one needed to wander out of Fantasy and over to Horror, where she was shelved with Stephen King. Now Rice and King are both housed in Fiction, and other writers have come along claiming to have single-handedly spawned urban fantasy, ignoring de Lint and Lackey.

Despite my very early reading in the genre, however, I hadn’t read any popular fiction in a very long time. For I’d been doing my Ph.D., and reading  mostly “serious literature.” So after I’d sat my defense, it was almost with a sense of shock that I realized, while wandering around a bookstore with my brother and his children, that I could buy whatever book I wanted. I didn’t have to slog through Philip Roth’s latest ode to his aging penis, or another postmodern experiment by Martin Amis. I could read anything in that store, unapologetically and without feeling guilty for “wasting” time I could be researching.

So I wandered over to Fantasy. Once there, I didn’t even know where to begin. Where once Lackey had a handful of novels, now she had about three shelves. I didn’t even remember which ones I’d read. I also, if I am completely honest, felt a little embarrassed looking at the neon, buxomy elven warriorresses draped over most of the covers.

Then my niece joined me and I did what any self-respecting doctor of English literature does when choosing a book: I asked a five-year-old for help. She pointed to a book at just about her eye level that had an adorable cover. “Buy that,” she said, and I had to acquiesce. The cover looked like folk art, and the young woman being carried by the vaguely Count Chocula-looking vampire was wearing a sparkling green dress.

“So cute,” I said, putting it in my basket. Then we picked out some more “cute” books, till I had enough to get me through my flight back to Edinburgh, where I was living at the time.

Sitting on that flight, reading Dead as a Doornail, I experienced a sensation I’d never felt before. It was one of connection: not just with the character, or the plot, or the genre, but with the tone of the book. For it was the tone of Harris’s novel that made me think, “Wow, I could do this. Not this book, obviously, but a book that feels like this.”

For what I felt while reading Sookie’s story was that it was real. This was a woman like women I knew, reacting in a “normal,” human way to absolutely abnormal circumstances. She wasn’t automatically reaching for a sword, or a glock; she was sweating, and scared, and doing her best not to faint, panic, or (god forbid) get herself killed.

In other words, she wasn’t a hero long familiar with the hero business. And even better, she took herself with a grain of salt.

Jane came to me then, almost fully formed, and dying to tell her story. I was just as surprised as everyone when I wrote her book, and I still can’t believe that book became a real book, sitting in the same section of stores as Misty and de Lint.

It was just over a year and a half ago that I read Dead as a Doornail, and things have moved so fast since then. I’ve had so many amazing experiences related to publishing Tempest Rising, but one of the biggest treats was finally meeting Ms. Harris, at a dinner party in Alpharetta, Georgia, and discovering she’s just as lovely and charming as her books. And yes, I did geek out on her. Realistically, Jane would have come out some way or another, but reading Sookie’s story definitely acted as a catalyst. I owe Ms.  Harris so very much, and that’s what I tried to tell her, awkwardly, over warm-artichoke dip while Mark Henry looked at me like, “If you go all stalker-fan, I’m pretending I don’t know  you.” Charlaine was, however, very gracious about everything, and I got to see her again at a signing in Shreveport, where I slipped her cupcakes. And a copy of my book.

The cupcakes paid off, and it is with an enormous amount of pleasure that I read Ms. Harris’s review of Tempest Rising, on New Year’s Eve, just before midnight.

Happy New Year to me . . . :-)

Published on January 2, 2010 in Cover Love, Pimpage! and Tempest Rising. 19 Comments

Come Meet Ryu!

To read an exclusive interview with Ryu, and enter to win a copy of TR, just go here! Thanks!

Published on November 24, 2009 in Contests and Tempest Rising. 6 Comments

Wars in Heaven, Sasquatch, and Yahoo!!!!

First of all, I would like to send huge thanks to Thom Marrion, who is AWESOME. He’s the one who made that gorgeous picture of the selkie girl reading Tempest Rising. And this time, he’s found Jane in the hands of her perfect man: large, hairy, and big-footed in such a way a girl just has to wonder . . .

BigfootBook

It’s Sasquatch! And he’s got his hairy mitts on Jane. I think she loves it, don’t you?

Next Thom turned his talents towards a picture of Jaye Wells and me from the Shreveport Smackdown:

War_in_Heaven copy

For those of you (like anybody who knows me in real life) who is all, “Ummm . . . angels? Really? Nikki?” have no fear.

We are supposed to be the Archangel Michael and Lucifer, and from the positioning (me getting my ass kicked), I’m assuming I’m Lucifer. Which makes PERFECT SENSE. So all of you who were like, “WTF?” can calm down now.

The wings will soon be stripped and the horns implanted. As they should be.

In OTHER EXCITING NEWS, Mark Henry got rather irate on Twitter about people hijacking his yahoo group to talk about Tempest Rising. In response, the ever-lovely @QQwill said, “Well, then, fine. I’ll make Nicole her OWN page.” So now, all eight of my fans can use yahoo groups to talk about how much they love me, my books, and everything Nicole. Granted, this will consist of probably about 5 posts (four of which will be prompts, from me, begging people to talk about how much they love me, my books, and everything Nicole). This scenario will undoubtedly be very amusing to anyone who enjoys watching me make an ass of myself, which seems to be everyone I know and love. :-) Ya’ll are lucky I’m always happy to oblige.

If you want to see me shamelessly begging for attention, you can join my yahoo group here:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nicole_peeler/

That said, I totally can’t work technology, so go ahead and be as snarky as you want. I will probably figure out how actually to enter the group and read your posts in about a month. So you’ve got a good four weeks to say crazy shit before I come in and bust heads (read: cry).

If you’re someone new to my site who’s all, “I saw this hot purple book but want to know whether or not it’s shite?” go check out my updated Tempest Rising page. It’s got all the reviews I could find plus some new author quotes.

I gotta admit, a few people DO think it’s fairly shite, but most people seem to enjoy it. Some of them even like it quite a bit.

And thanks to all of you who do. :-)

Finally, my fellow Leaguer and soon-to-be-debut-novelist, Kelly Meding, is serializing two of her short stories over the next week and a half to promote the release of THREE DAYS TO DEAD. Fun!

Published on November 20, 2009 in Nicole Peeler, Reviews and Tempest Rising. 8 Comments