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Hello darlings.

I just turned in grades Monday, which means that I’m FREE! FREE!

Except for the fact I have to have my third book finished by January first . . .

So yeah. I’m writing. Like crazy. Also preparing to make the long trek home to Chicago to spend the holidays with my family.

So I will blog, for real, soon. But in the meantime, for those of you who didn’t make it over to Bitten By Books (shame on you!) for my online release party, here are the vlogs I did for those rose-nubbin’ lovin’ Bitten By Bookers . . .

Vlog One (The Intro)

Vlog Two (The Reading)

Enjoy! And see y’all on the flip side. . .

Over at the League, I’ve blogged some more Things I Like!

There’s a big cover survey here, and TR has been nominated “most unique” cover! So go vote! Now! I command you!

Remember: Voodoo unto others as they voodoo unto you.

Today you are party to a conversation between Jane True, star of Nicole Peeler’s Tempest Rising, and Alexia Tarabotti, star of Gail Carriger’s Soulless. Because Jane’s very new to the publishing world, and her author is a bit distracted with finals, the good people at Orbit Books thought it a good idea if Alexia mentored Jane on the finer points of being an urban fantasy heroine.

This is their first meeting, and Jane is very nervous. She looks up to Alexia terribly, you see. And we all know what happens when Jane gets nervous. . .

Jane: Hi Alexia! Thanks for agreeing to speak with me. I know you’ve been super busy, and all. First off, can you tell me a bit about your world? I loved your book and I want to hear about it straight from you.

Alexia: That’s very direct, my dear. Shouldn’t we introduce ourselves? Then, perhaps, you can offer me tea. Then some social pleasantries, and after a short spate of time and familiarity we can discuss more indelicate matters.

Jane: Ummmm . . . tea? Sorry . . . we’re more coffee drinks around here. How about coffee?

Alexia: Goodness gracious, are you Italian? You don’t look Italian, and I should know. Thank you kindly but I hear coffee is very bad for the constitution.

Jane: Um, sure. Right. I’ll get tea for next time . . . In the meantime, no soul? Really?

Alexia: And how did you find about that, young lady? I thought the Bureau of Unnatural Registry had classified my preternatural status on a need to know basis. Do you have contacts in the British government? Well, I am under the impression, if you are aware of my soulless state that perhaps you should reveal a big dark secret to me. I’ve heard, although I hardly can believe it is true (true, oh dear, how droll) that you have some kind of mixed seal transformation capacity. I should never have believed such a thing possible. Is it like being a werewolf? What’s the scientific basis for this body dimorphic dual form skill? And why a seal, it’s not very, well, threatening, now is it?

Jane: Dude, you do know we share the same editor, right? So, like, I just asked her for your book and she gave it to me . . . so no need to go through your Bureau of Unnatural Acts with Sheep, or whatever you call it. And, my mom is the shape shifter. I’m just a halfling . . . but seals are totally tough! Have you seen one clap? Well they can crack a walnut between those flippers . . . think what they could do to a human skull! If it’s been weakened in some capacity, first . . .*shifts uncomfortably* Okay, let’s start over. Umm . . . can you tell me what’s up with all the underwear?

Alexia: *sputters* Pardon? WHAT did you just ask? I shall entirely ignore that question, as it quite rightly deserves.

Jane: *shrugs* It’s just that you’re wearing a LOT of underwear. I mean, how do you pee?

Alexia: *silence*

Jane: Ohhh-kay . . . um . . . tea? Only tea? Really?

Alexia: You can think of a better beverage? I highly doubt it. Have you ever had a really well prepared cup of tea? You’ll forgive me if I suspect your dietary preferences, you are, after all, an American.

Jane: If, by “American,” you mean a preference for something other than jellied eels and fried Mars bars, than yes. I have American tastes. And speaking of tastes: Lord Macon. Hot. What is it about were-puppies that really get our petticoats in a twist?

Alexia: Hot? What is the implication of the term? Are we discussing the same Lord Maccon of my acquaintance? He is a loud, uncouth Scotsman, that is what he is. I fail to see the appeal, and I resent the implication.

Jane: *narrows her eyes, contemplating Alexia. Suddenly she smiles* Ohhhhh, I get it. You “resent” his “implication.” Yeah, you’re totally not into him. Right. Let me guess . . . you just love him for his doggy style? *snickers*

Alexia: Pardon?

Jane: Come on, Allie! Werewolf? Doggy style? You HAVE to make lots of “doggy style” jokes? How could you resist?

Alexia: I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about, Miss True. Are you quite certain you are still speaking the English language?

Jane: Okay, I get it, I get it! You’re at that stage where you aren’t comfortable talking about how you’re humping that puppy right back. It’s fine. But can I just ask you . . . how does Lord Maccon feel about “doggy style” jokes?

Alexia: I am beginning to suspect, young lady, that you are a rather impossible person. Have you met my friend, Lord Akeldama? I think you two would get along famously.

Jane: Dude, hook us up! I loved his . . . are those called codpieces? Whatever, they were saucy! In the mean time, I can hook you up with . . . um . . . how you do you feel about Snoop Dogg? *giggles*

Alexia: We are back to this language barrier, I’m afraid. Is it because you are American, or do you ordinarily slip into a foreign tongue without warning?

Jane: Slipping the foreign tongue! I get it! You’re so crazy! Oh, and that parasol rocks. Where can I get one?

Alexia: You’re a very forthright young woman, aren’t you, Miss True? Yes, well, I believe I will soon be introduced to the source of all things parasol. Perhaps, I could send you a missive on the subject at a more apropos time? Not to be too déclassé but, given your current – how do I put this? – limited mode of dress, you may not have the necessary funds to afford such an Item. I do not mean any insult by this but, really, my dear, you appear to be wearing rather limited masculine attire. It’s very odd. I can only suppose it is out of desperation, for which you are, of course, to be pitied.

Jane: *blinks down at herself* Oh, crap! There’s a hole in my jeans! And they’re not even that old. *sighs* Girl, I carry all my weight in my thighs, and seriously, I could start a fire with the chafing. That’s why I never wear corduroy. Talk about kindling! Not like you . . . your skirts would put that shit out before you even started smoking. Seriously, what’s up with all the underwear?

Alexia: Oh for goodness sake, next time we meet, I get to ask the questions.

Jane and Alexia will continue their discussions about tea, proper underclothing, and whether all werewolves need to be greeted with obligatory “doggy style” jokes in further posts on www.orbitbooks.net.

In the meantime, if you’d like to win a copy of BOTH Soulless and Tempest Rising, please answer the following question in comments:

Tea? Or coffee?

A random winner will be drawn from the Contest Can on Monday, December 7th. Thanks for playing!

For entirely personal reasons that shan’t be aired in public, my debut weekend was a bit of a bust. So I’m living vicariously through the lovely Kelly Meding, whose fabulous book, Three Days to Dead, is released today! Kelly’s been so kind as to talk with me her experiences as a first-time novelist. After you’ve enjoyed her discussion, answer one, two, or all three of the questions below the interview IN COMMENTS, to put yourself in the running to win a copy of Three Days to Dead.

DEBUT AUTHOR DISCUSSION

What’s the most consistent piece of advice you’ve gotten from other published authors about how to handle your very first release day?

Don’t obsess over Amazon rankings.  It’s funny the number of folks who’ve mentioned wearing out the refresh key, checking their numbers.  I admit, I don’t really understand Amazon rankings anyway.  What on earth would be considered bad/good/awesome/OMG?  I don’t know.  But apparently obsessing over Amazon is a time-honored tradition on release day, and not just for debut authors.  I intend to actually spend the day out of the house (after sleeping in), possibly treating myself to those Pecan Pie Pancakes I just saw in an IHOP commercial.  For lunch, since I’ll be sleeping in and won’t make it to IHOP for breakfast.  So yeah, hopefully I won’t be around enough to get online and obsess.

Okay, let me put it this way: I don’t plan to be online and obsessing.  But never say never, right?

Since you sold your first novel, what’s the one question people you know/meet ask you the most?

“When’s it coming out?” followed almost immediately by “Why so long?” for the first….oh, year or so.  A lot of people don’t realize that most of the books that have just made it into bookstores were bought anywhere from one to two years ago.  They don’t know the process of what goes into editing, producing and promoting a book, or why it takes so long.  Truth be told, before I got serious about publishing, I didn’t either.

As a tween, I obsessively read “Sweet Valley High.”  Every month, we’d trek to the B. Dalton in the Mall (which was 45 minutes away and, at the time, the nearest bookstore), and I’d buy the latest SVH.  I remember having this strange idea that the books were being “made” the month right before release.  I don’t think I really considered the logistics of how one woman would write four books a month (at the time, Sweet Valley had High, Twins, Kids, and College), not to mention my assumed time crunch.  I’d never thought that hard about how the printed book got into my eager little hands.

Even after I discovered the joy and agony of writing, I didn’t think that hard about it.  This is probably why I was almost sucked into the provocative world of vanity publishing with my first novel.  They promised my book in my hands, in mere weeks.  It was exciting! It was thrilling!  It was…wrong.  Thank the stars I discovered, by sheer happenchance, Absolute Write.  That quickly cured me of my vanity press aspirations, and I learned A LOT about why it takes so long for a book to hit stores.  I try to give the condensed version to folks who ask, and they’re often just as surprised as I was to find out why it takes so long.  But the wait is often worth it.

What surprised you the most about the process between “Deal” and “Debut”?

“Hurry up and wait.”  It’s a key phrase that I understood going into editorial submissions, but I’d never put it into practice until after we sold.  There are long stretches of nothing, followed by “get this back to me ASAP.”  That’s just the way things go.  Editors juggle a lot of books and authors at once, and when it’s my turn to be juggled, I need to be ready to work and do what she needs done.  It can be frustration, sure.  Months pass without a word, and then you’re trading emails every few hours for a couple of days.  More weeks pass, then you need to return copy edits in three weeks.

If you’re really big on planning ahead, this business will fry your brain.  Fortunately for me, my schedule is pretty flexible.  If something is due, I can fit it in and get it done.

First novel versus debut novel.  Go!

Well, for some lucky folks (*glares at Nicole*) they are the same thing.  I know a few amazing authors who write and sell their first completed novels.  I wasn’t one of those.  THREE DAYS TO DEAD was the seventh novel I wrote.  Lucky number seven.  My first novel was your typical “me” story—set in a town kind of like where I grew up, with characters kind of like people I knew, very small story and not a single paranormal element.  It was a novel I had to write for many reasons, but it would have a very small market.

The next three books I wrote were all part of a series of supernatural thrillers—and that isn’t really the right genre.  The books were mysteries of a sort, and the characters had various psychic powers, but there were very few books in the market that were similar.  I had no idea how to market them to agents.  Two more books were written, these of a new series and genre—superhero fiction.  There was very little of it out, and I pulled the ideas out of something I started working on when I was fifteen.  These got a little more attention, but as an author, I still hadn’t hit my stride.  I was stuck in this strange murky area between romance and non-romance, and the blend wasn’t working.  I hadn’t quite figured out what it was I wrote, so the books suffered.  Then I got a good, swift kick in the pants from Jeaniene Frost, and viola!  It clicked.  I knew what I was doing wrong.

So yes, it took me six tries to finally write my debut novel.  It wasn’t my first completed, but it’s my first published, and I’m very proud of the final product.

What’s your biggest challenge as a debut author?

Overcoming the way my brain is wired to equate “talking about myself and my book” with “bragging.”  I hate talking about myself.  Hell, some of the people I work with in the day job only found out last week that I have a book coming out—and that’s because another co-worker told them.  But that’s just me, I guess.  No one likes a bragger, I have this weird idea that being proud of my accomplishments and telling people about my book is bragging.  In a way it is.  And I know it’s the good kind of bragging, right?

I suppose it’s a by-product of shyness.  Most of the people who meet me now can’t believe I was ever a shy, frumpy kid who hid behind books.  Working in retail cured me of most of that shyness, but I still get tongue-tied around new people, and I hate being put on the spot.  I don’t do well thinking on my feet.

Debut authors (the majority of us, anyway) don’t get big promotional pushes from our publishers.  We don’t get tours and full-page ads in magazines, and we don’t get big interviews.  We have to promote ourselves.  I have no trouble with the Internet side of promotion (like this).  It’s all about writing down the words.  But going into a public place and selling myself face-to-face with strangers?  I’d rather shave my head.  Nicole, you saw how nervous I was at Dragon*Con, speaking on my very first panel.  With five other authors.  Just wait and see how crazy I get when I have to do something alone.

Oh boy.

To win a copy of Kelly’s book, comment below and answer one or all of the following questions:

1) How do you normally mark large occasions?

2) What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done to celebrate a success?

3) What do you think Kelly should do to celebrate the release of her new novel?

I’ll choose a winner, at random, from the Contest Can on Monday, Nov. 30th! Thanks!