Tag Archive for 'Mario Acevedo'

RomCon Rumbled…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Which he was.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hello mah friends!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

And it felt goooooooood.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

HUGE League Release Day! And a Guest Post!

Hey Errybody! Today’s a HUGE release day for the League of Reluctant Adults (and friends).

Richelle Mead, Dakota Cassidy, and Juliet Blackwell ALL have new releases that YOU MUST BUY NOW. NOW I TELL YOU.

Go to web sites, peruse, and then GO BUY. I can’t wait to read Richelle and Juliet’s latest, and Dakota’s coming out with something totally new with her first Contemporary Romance. Imagine how funny she is with the supernatural? Now take all that snark and apply it to the idea of an ex-trophy wife? Seriously? Wear diapers, people. You have been warned.

As an added layer of pimpage, the lovely Mario Acevedo has graced my blog with a guest post. Yay! For his graphic novels are coming out today, too! FUN!

Say hello to Mario!

Mario’s Guest Post

I’ll admit, I got lucky. A lot of us fantasy writers dream of getting our stories picked up as a comic book or graphic novel. Well, it happened to me.

Last year, I was contacted by IDW Publishing. They had read my urban fantasy novels and asked if I would like to have a comic book treatment of my detective-vampire Felix Gomez. Would I?

The interesting part was IDW didn’t want an adaptation of an existing story but a spin-off with an all-new tale. In fact, they even picked out a line from my first novel, The Nymphos of Rocky Flats, and suggested we build a story around that.

This is an excerpt describing Felix’s first assignment between the time he became a vampire and then arrived at Rocky Flats.

“Besides the Blanford case, there was another assignment that told me you were the man for this. The Han Cobras.”

Chinese heroin smugglers. Ruthless. Invincible. Killed three Federal Drug Enforcement agents, not to mention dozens of foreign cops. Invincible. Except against a vampire.

The next step was pulling my literary agent into the conversation and hammering out a contract. In the meantime, the publisher offered the portfolios of several artists for the panel and cover art. As an artist myself, I thought it was presumptuous of me to pass judgment on artists with professional credential far better than mine. The publisher made it easy, and the two artists he suggested– Alberto Dose for the panels and Pinturero for the covers–were perfect.

Here’s another sample, Elf Embryo, that demonstrates Pinturero’s freaky awesomeness:

I was contracted to write the scripts for four comics and since the concept was mine, to provide guidance to the project. IDW provided sample scripts and comics for reference. Additionally, I had to turn in an author’s bio, promotional copy, and a detailed synopsis of both the overall story and each comic book story. My editor did a thorough job picking through the synopsis and offered suggestions to improve the story. Comic scripts are different from screenplays in that the artists want a lot of detailed descriptions and you can include interior dialog (“thoughts” which are shunned in screenplays). The script can be as long as you feel necessary but you’re limited (in most cases) to twenty-one comic pages to tell your story. The most fun was writing classic lines such as:

BLAM! Ka-POW! BOOM!

Another difference from my previous writing experience was how collaborative the process was working with a comic book publisher versus a traditional book publisher. With traditional book publishers, sometimes it seems that even as the author, I’m out of the loop in a lot of what happens with my novels. That wasn’t the case with IDW as they were constantly cluing me in. They would submit pencil drafts of work-in-progress for my comments. (Which were minor. Alberto Dose in particular has been doing comic books for a long time, and I respected his interpretation of my script.) Another difference was the brisk production schedule. In traditional publishing, you can expect a year–or longer–from the time you submit a manuscript and publication. IDW wanted the first comic on the street in less than six months after I’d turned in the script. And another big difference between comic books and novels publishers, IDW asked for cover ideas and actually ran with my ideas!

For example, for the cover of issue #2, I suggested that the artist incorporate a crow (used by vampires as messengers), Hei Men Dao (a rogue vampire shaman), Qian Ning (the love interest), and separately, Felix involved in a shoot-out.

Here’s the first draft.

We kicked the concept around and Pinturero came back with:

Closer but Felix wasn’t there yet.
On the third try, Pinturero nailed it. Awesome. My favorite. Felix at his bad-ass best.

Here is a sample of panel art in pencil form.

Alberto Dose was also contracted to provide alternative covers for all four issues. Here’s his take on issue #2.

And what’s the point of having vampires and ruthless gangsters if you can’t include a little kinkiness like topless bondage gear and ball gags?

The four issues of the comic book have been bundled into the graphic novel, Killing the Cobra: Chinatown Trollop, and is out December 7. The embossed cover is amazing!


On sale at your local comic book store, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon.

Thanks Nicole. Give my regards to Jane True.

Happy fanging!

Mario Acevedo

http://www.marioacevedo.com

http://www.biting-edge.blogspot.com

Will do, Mario! now all y’all, get to shoppin’! ;-)

Published on December 7, 2010 in Guest Blogs and Pimpage!. 5 Comments Tags: , , , .

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… ;-)

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

RT in Review

I have one thing to say about Romantic Times: I loved it.

The fans were awesome, I had SO MUCH FUN with the League and the other authors, and the con, itself, couldn’t have been more well organized. I also adored Columbus and the actual location of the convention. There’s nothing worse, to me, than being trapped in the middle of nowhere in a hotel, but the Hyatt Columbus is in a great area, close to bars, restaurants, and even a farmer’s market where you could buy fresh produce and deliciously evil ice cream.

I arrived a day late, unfortunately, to find that things were already in full swing. And by full swing I mean most of the League already looked decidedly hung over. The rest of the con was a bit of a blur, but a blur of hilarity; loads of fantastic friends, both old and new; and, admittedly, a lot of food and booze. Here’s a wee RT in Pictures (some of which I’ve stolen from other people’s websites–with permission–as I’m rubbish at taking photos):

The Hyatt Columbus did some really smart customer outreach by having a Twitter Fairy: Basically, people were hashtagging #RT10 on Twitter, and if anyone said anything about needing hangers, for example, hangers would magically appear in their room, that night. Pretty soon people caught on, and I asked for dancing girls and champagne. I got the champagne, which was lovely. And the hotel, in general, was wonderful: clean, great service, and an absolutely marvelous location. The nearby North Market was my heaven.

I’m sure y’all have seen other pics of Diana Rowland’s Creepy Doll, but here are two from my own phone. In the first, Kat Richardson reacts with appropriate horror. In the second, Dakota’s maternal instincts extend even to Creepy Doll, whom Dakota teaches to play drums. Creepy Doll only tried to stab Dakota twice with the drum sticks. I love the look on Jeanne Stein’s face almost as much as I love Jeanne, herself. Classic! And you can just see Carolyn Crane peeping out behind Jeanne. She’s adorable! Carolyn, Jeanne Stein and I will be rocking Rom Com this summer, so look out for us, if you’re there.

Meanwhile, Diana took that damned doll everywhere. Here she is out with us for food (fried cheese curds!). That’s me, Jaye Wells, Tor’s Heather Osborne, and Zombie Joe (who made us lovely cupcakes). Meanwhile, I stole this picture directly from Lucienne Diver’s blog. Lucienne is an agent and writer and absolute bombshell who I really enjoyed hanging out with. Check out the rest of her RT pics at her site!

Here’s another couple of pics from Lucienne’s site:

Me with John Scalzi and my gorgeous critique partner, Diana Rowland.

I was rocking out my vampire heart fake tattoos, and for the final big night I went for something super subtle and classy. It’s about time the girls earned their keep!

Probably the coolest thing at RT was the League and our Passports to Snark. Mario Acevedo and Mark Henry cooked up the plan, and it worked a treat. And by treat, I mean I have never seen such foulness spewed onto a page as was spewed onto those passports. And everything said about me (especially by Mario!) is a foul lie. A lie, I tell you! A lie.

Here’s my little set up for the GINORMOUS signing on Saturday. I was sitting on the very end of a slightly extended row. So I watched as the doors to the signing opened, and hundreds of people came running towards me . . . and then past me, and on to J. R. Ward’s ticketed line. I had a good giggle, at that, once I came out from underneath my chair.

Dinner with @jayewells and @NicolePeeler whoa!! on Twitpic

Another highlight of RT was the fact my wondrous editor, the Eye of Sauron herself, Devi Pillai, came to RT! She took Jaye Wells and me to  a lovely dinner, and here’s a picture Devi took of the two of us. I think I should get the tattoos for real. My mother would be thrilled.

My final night at RT (Saturday) meant only one thing: Suite party (hosted by the effervescent Michele Bardsley), featuring Erotic Readings by the League. Apparently it’s an old tradition, one that I was thrilled to enjoy. But before the readings, there were all sorts of shenanigans. Including the gifting of these Fetish Feet to Mark Henry, although the model in question is the absolutely fabulous Sophie Littlefield. I hung out quite a bit with her, Julie Goodson Lawe, and Rachael Herron. I am slightly obsessed with all three of them, as they are rockin’ ladies.

Here are some live action shots of Mark Henry and Stacia Kane reading their amazing, amazing smut. The word “glutinous” was used at some point, and not to describe Elmer’s Glue. I was transfixed and inspired. Look for “glutionous” in my next work . . . it will be hot. And sticky.

To round out my pictures, I’ll leave you with my favorite of the lot. The moment Stacia broke Mark. It was beautiful.

Enjoy! And I will definitely be seeing you at RT, next year, in LA. If I were any more excited, I could spit. Glutinously!

Published on May 6, 2010 in Conventions, My Travels and Nicole Peeler. 10 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

Guest Blog: MARIO ACEVEDO

It’s with great pleasure I introduce Mario to the Emporium. He’s fabulous . . . never read an email him with something in your mouth. It will inevitably come out of your nose. He’s hilarious and the books are fantastic–I love me some Felix. Rawr! So here goes . . . Mario Acevedo!

The Writer’s Life, a Cocktail of Friends and Alcohol.

I first met Nicole Peeler at a clothing-optional writer’s workshop.  Afterwards, Nicole told me it was too flaccid.  My work, she meant.

My fifth book is out, which means I’ve been at this writing biz as a professional for four years.  We all expect great things from getting published.  Piles of money for one.  That happens for a few.  Other writers fizzle out right away and disappear.  The rest of us die-hard scribes slog along as mid-list authors, trying our best to survive.

But what I didn’t expect and what surprised me was meeting and becoming friends with my fellow writers, strangers at first.  One popular misconception is that writers are introverted hermits toiling away in an attic or basement.  Once in a while they’re prodded out for book tours and they squint mole-like at the sun before slinking away in search of a drink.

Actually I’ve found writers to be the opposite.  Almost unanimously they’re gregarious and generous.  Most of us realize that our success is a matter of hard work and luck.  There are a few writers–insufferable wretches, the toe fungus of the publishing industry–who act as though they’ve been anointed by a Higher Power to deliver the printed word.  Usually these writers blend in with the normal good people but occasionally they give themselves away.  When they do, we have a special name for them: microphone hogs.  The next time you’re at an author’s panel and there is one writer who slobbers all over the mike and barely acknowledges the other panelists, that person is the insufferable wretch, a.k.a. the microphone hog, a.k.a. the windbag asshole.

Another popular misconception is that writers are backbiting helots.  Again, untrue.  We authors band together in online tribes.  We watch out for one another; if there’s an opportunity we pass along a mention.  If there’s a snake in the grass, we shout a warning.  This doesn’t mean we don’t talk smack about one another.   We do.  As much as possible.  For example, I know things about Nicole that would make a prison warden blush.  And I respect Nicole too much to give details other than to say I have pictures for sale and I accept PayPal.

However, there is one perception about writers that is very true.  We like to drink.  A lot.  My first writers’ conference as a professional was the 2006 Bouchercon in Madison, WI.  Voted the most walkable city in America.  Which means the bars are within stumbling distance.  Because of that experience, I’ve held mystery writers in awe.  My heroes.  Since then I’ve branched out to other genre conferences and while I certainly wouldn’t call fantasy writers lightweights around the bottle, mystery writers remained the grand potentates of partiers.

Until my first Romantic Times conference.  Who would’ve thought these bitchy lushes masquerading as college professors and suburban housewives could’ve hip-checked mystery writers off the barstool of honor?  To be fair, some of these writers were ringers, mystery authors doing double duty.

And my team was the urban fantasy scribblers, appropriately named the League of Reluctant Adults, who guzzled the booze like thirsty mudcats.  These women writers brought to Romantic Times an expertise missing at the other cons.  Erotica.  Porn by and for women.  Add booze.  See what you get.

One memorable bacchanal was the public reading of sex-drenched pages.  Civilians–i.e., non-writers–crept close to soak up the 100 proof filth.  Judging by their sweaty faces and twitchy fingers, we didn’t disappoint.

Which brings us full circle to the queen of sweaty faces and twitchy fingers: Nicole Peeler.  Buy her book.  Support her snark.

Happy fanging.

Mario Acevedo

His latest book, WEREWOLF SMACKDOWN, is on the prowl.  Your best hope for salvation is to buy a copy…or better yet, several.

http://www.marioacevedo.com

And now for the CONTEST! To win a copy of Werewolf Smackdown, answer me the following, in comments:

Felix doesn’t consume his blood the “normal” way for a vampire. Rather, his sanguinary consumption often occurs in the form of enchiladas with a very special red sauce. What do YOU think is a good recipe/type of food to serve as a culinary vehicle for blood? Por ejemplo (see Mario! Spanish!), Blood a la Mode! (I’m wikked bilingual people. Wikkid.) Winners will be pulled from the Contest Can next WEDNESDAY, just in time to announce my NEXT CONTEST.

Cuz I heard Sabina Kane’s in town . . . And she does so enjoy the Emporium . . .

Published on March 27, 2010 in Contests, Guest Blogs and Pimpage!. 40 Comments Tags: , , , , .

The Weiner! And More Excitement!

Y’all came up with some AWESOME responses to the last contest question: What would REALLY win out, brain or brawn? Most of you seem to have gone for brain. And while I hope this is true, I still have this vision of me being like, “I will think my way out of this nightmare!”–right up until someone pops me in the nose and I’m down for the count.

But I think one idea shone through that is absolutely relevant and true, and that’s the idea that we want our heroes/heroines to have brains, because otherwise their books would be pants. Por ejemplo, snark unmitigated by intelligence isn’t snark . . . it’s just being a bitch.

So yay! Fun responses that I really enjoyed reading, which means its with great pleasure that I reach my greasy little paw into . . . the CONTEST CAN!

And the weiner is . . . . . the very last commenter, SARAH! Way to pip the others at the post! Congrats!

Email me at iheartselkies(at)gmail(daht)com with your address and I’ll have Carolyn Crane’s Mind Games expedited to you.

And in very fun news, the fabulous Mario Acevedo is going to be guest blogging here, tomorrow. The post is hilarious, although everything he says about me are LIES! Terrible LIES!

Alongside of Mario’s blog I’ll be running a contest to win his newest book, Werewolf Smackdown. I couldn’t be more excited. Could you? ;-)

Published on March 26, 2010 in Contests, Guest Blogs and Pimpage!. 3 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

Some Pimpage and a Contest!

It’s that time of the month, again . . . the League is stirring and, panting like a Lamaze instructor, birthing BOOKS!

In a few days, Mario Acevedo will be guest posting here, and I’ll be running a contest to win his newest book: Werewolf Smackdown!

How great are these covers? Between now and my contest, though, feel free to buy the rest of Mario’s books. OR buy Werewolf Smackdown anyway because you know how good it’s going to be, and you know you’ll probably need another copy if you get too excited reading the first and spit coca-cola on it. Or whatever other fluids Mario’s fiction may make you spit. It’s okay…this is a judge free zone.

But in the MEANTIME, I have a contest for RIGHT NOW! I’m very excited when we get to launch a debut novel by a Leaguer. After all, the League was there for me when I debuted Tempest Rising and I don’t know where I’d be without their support. So it’s with great pleasure that I announce the launch of Carolyn Crane’s debut novel, MIND GAMES! Huzzah!

How good does that look? Her heroine is totally gonna cut a bitch. And what a big knife she has! To win a copy of Carolyn’s book, just ponder the following question and insert your thoughts into my comments box. *giggles*

As a nerd, I like to tell myself that brains (MIND GAMES!) will win over brawn (WEREWOLF SMACKDOWNS!), and yet I also know that I’m not going to manage to Machiavelli my way out of a situation if someone has their filthy paws wrapped around my throat. So what do you think is really more important for a hero/heroine? Brains or brawn?

Comment here, and I’ll choose a winner, randomly, from the CONTEST CAN! on Friday, at noon, Louisiana time. Which doesn’t mean 1:30, you assholes, it means central time.

Awesome! Have great weeks! And stay tuned for later in the week when Mario will be visiting. I’m gonna start laying down tarps now . . . it will inevitably get sticky.

Published on March 23, 2010 in Contests and Pimpage!. 52 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .