Tag Archive for 'Sophie Littlefield'

Belated Pimpage and a WIENER!

Hello mah pets.

First off, I’m sorry that everything about this post is belated. I’m afraid that I am belated, this week. I’m revising revising revising and although it’s going well, my brain is a bit of a scramble.

So first off, let me extended a belated, but heartfelt pimp slap to three of mah favorite ladies, Lee McClain, Sophie Littlefield and Rachael Herron. Sophie’s beautiful new YA, Unforsaken, released last week.  Here’s the cover. Gorgeous.

Rachael also the release of her latest knitting romance, the cover of which I think is precious:

All I can find on the net is this weensy copy of it, but it’s lovely!

Finally there’s Lee McClain’s book. Lee is my colleague at Seton Hill, and one of the people responsible for hiring me. She’s also an amazing lady who I’m so glad I get to know and call friend. I really respect her and care for her, and this book looks adorable. It’s young YA, with tons of heart. It’s Sizzle!

So git to shopping! Sizzle would also make a great edition to your child’s library at school, so you might want to buy an extra to donate. :-)

And, finally, we have a wiener. The contest can has spoken and JESSICA S, you get to email me with your address and any two mass market paperbacks ($7.99 or under) available on Amazon that you’d like me to order for you. Thanks for playing!

Time for me to get back to work. No rest for the wicked!

Published on October 17, 2011 in Contests and Pimpage!. 2 Comments Tags: , , .

Debauchercon! I Mean, Bouchercon!

Hi folks! I’m happy to announce that I survived Bouchercon! It was so much fun, I don’t know where to begin. Okay, that’s a lie, as I know exactly where to begin: with Friday.

Friday I got in that evening, around 4:30. I went up to our room and let Sophie and Julie know I’d arrived. I then hopped in the shower, as I’d been up super early that morning to get some stuff done and was already feeling grotty. Sophie and Julie took coming home to a nekkid little wet girl very well, and there was much hugging and rejoicing. There was also some imbibing of “drawer whiskey,” the best whiskey ever invented.

After we had a thorough catch up, we did some turns around the bar. I then met my absolutely lovely friends Ervin and Gary, and we had dinner. It was so great to see them, although poor Gary’s car had its radiator blow up, so that meant they didn’t have a car to hang out Saturday. Which was a total bummer, although we definitely got in some good bonding time.

After dinner, I met up with the ladies at the hotel, where there were more turns around the bar. Julie and Sophie know everyone, and I mean everyone, so it was a blur of awesome new people. Everyone was really interesting, and I was loving meeting so many people with whom I had so much to talk about. It was also nice to be at a convention where men outnumbered women, and none of them were Cavemen in loin cloths. At least not that we could see.

To cap the night off, we ended up in our rooms with a bunch of people, a bottle of vodka and one of Laphroig, and there was much frivolity. I, however, am used to a 10:00 pm bedtime, so by midnight (central time), I was done. I went ahead and curled up on my cot and had a grand old time listening to everyone talk while I wrestled with sleep.

The next day was more of the same, but it was such great same. We talked, we worked, we networked, we bonded. I may have bought $20 worth of “gooey butter cake,” but can you blame me? I met the beautiful and graceful Victoria Laurie, who I really liked, along with the very wonderful Maddee, who designs our Pens Fatales blog as well as Sophie and Julie’s websites. They were both such great ladies and I had so much fun getting to know them better. I also did much bonding with the Charlatan’s Debi Murray and Murder by the Book’s Johnnie Cakes, whom I couldn’t love more if he were a saltine cracker.

OH, and this was the coolest thing ever. I MET THE REAL GOAT. Yes, Sophie’s gorgeous Sheriff Goat is based on a REAL MAN, a thriller writer, who came to our room party. He was adorable (and by adorable I mean haaaaht), and he really WAS Goat! *fans herself*

Saturday night after dinner, and another bar turn, we discovered there was a free photo booth! Many shenanigans ensued, a few of which I’ve included in this blog. Eventually, we ended up back in the room, where we had another  party. I curled up like a dead thing at midnight again, but everyone was very sweet about tucking me in and giving me cuddles. I think I brought out everyone’s parental instincts with my propensity to swaddle myself like a cocooning caterpillar, and it was lovely to be on the receiving end of a little TLC.

And that’s exactly what this weekend was. Don’t get me wrong, I definitely met some great people with whom I discussed our MFA and our visiting writer opportunities, and I did loads of great networking. But it’s hard to call that work when it’s so enjoyable to see lovely people like Charlaine Harris and her BFF Paula, whom I adore. So, basically I spent a weekend with kind, interesting, caring people, all the while meeting new people who turned out to be just as wonderful.

It was a great way to put everything into perspective, and realize how lucky, and loved, I really am. When I came home I ordered tickets to San Francisco so I can go to Julie’s halloween party. Viva la ladies!

I was my typical rubbish self at taking pictures, but I still got some fun ones. Mostly due to the photo booth, of course. First off, here’s me with Gary and Ervin. Could they be any hotter? Feel that sizzle.

Next, here’s me trying out a new look:

It made everyone want to pet my kitty. Next we have our first round of photo booth shenanigans. How many writers can you fit into one photo booth? It was like a clown car when we poured out.

And here we are abusing John. Poor muffin.

There are more, but they get increasingly more inappropriate.

Sunday morning, I shared a taxi to the airport with Sophie’s brother, Mike Cooper, whose debut is coming out very soon. He was so nice, and it was very cute seeing Sophie with her bro.

I got home nice and early Sunday, but I was wiped out. I watched much Doctor Who and basked in the glow of the weekend. It was lovely, and much needed, and will remain a great memory.

That was my Bouchercon weekend! How was yours? ;-)

OH, I almost forgot. Vote for me in the Bookies for AAD 2012!

 

Published on September 19, 2011 in Appearances, Conventions and My Travels. 2 Comments Tags: , , , .

Updates! Reviews! Pimpage! LONDON!

Hello my lovelies!

Sorry I’ve been MIA. I had our June residency for our MFA, and that’s always a ton of work (albeit very fun work). Our MFA in Writing Popular Fiction is what they call a “low-residency” degree, meaning that most of the coursework is done long-distance, through on-line classes and through an individual relationship with a mentor. But twice a year, every January and every June, all of our students converge, en masse, to Seton Hill, where we have an intensive five day Residency, full of critique groups, workshops, and tons of other things.

I had a great time at this residency. As usual, I taught our “2s” (second term students) in a module on close reading. I led three critique groups, all of which had some absolutely fabulous stories. Finally, I taught a workshop on Trends in Mystery. Half of the workshop was on trends, the idea of trends, and specific trends in mystery. But it was the very last day of the residency when I led the workshop, and my goal was to leave everyone inspired. So the second half of the workshop was loads of group and individual work, scoping out the scene in mystery (or whatever other genre the attendee writes) and coming up with some ideas for other, future projects. I think it went well, and I know I was inspired at the end of it!

We also had great speakers visiting! The lovely Heather Osborn, editorial director of Samhain, and equally lovely Lucienne Diver, author and agent with the Knight Agency, came in to speak. They were fabulous: super enthusiastic, excited about the business, and really knowledgeable. I also got to spend some bonding time with both ladies, which was great as they’re awesome.

The day after Residency, I packed up and headed to Chicago. I solved my laundry issue (there was not time to do it during Res) by taping shut my hamper and sticking the whole thing in the car. So I basically turned up at my parents like a college freshmen, laundry in tow. It was like an episode of the Cosbys! I’d like to say I was playing the part of Denise, but realistically I’ve always been a Vanessa.

But in the meantime, much has been happening with my upcoming release, Eye of the Tempest! Publisher’s Weekly says that the fourth book “brings even more sass, snark, and supernatural action.” Meanwhile, Romantic Times gave the book 4 1/2 stars, saying that I “keep the action brisk and the emotions sharp.” Don’t cut yourself! ;-)

I’m betting there’ll be Eye spottings in the wild as soon as the middle of this month, but if you need something to read in the meantime, have no fear! First off, Sophie Littlefield’s Bad Day For Scandal came out a few weeks ago. I love this series, and can’t wait to dig into this book!

If you want something in the Urban Fantasy realm, have no fear. K.A. Stewart’s Shot in the Dark is coming July 5th. It looks great! I love these covers:

And speaking of cover love, my critique partner, Diana Rowland, has her ABSOLUTELY AWESOME book My Life as a White Trash Zombie also coming July 5th, although I just saw it yesterday on the shelves of Barnes and Noble:

This cover by Dan Dos Santos absolutely rocks my world, and the book is great. Even if you don’t like zombies I think you’ll like this one, as Diana’s taken the zombie to a whole ‘nother level of trashy-cool.

Kevin Hearne’s Hammered also has a July 5th release. I blurbed the first book of this series and can’t wait to catch up with the rest. These also have great covers, as I greatly enjoy Atticus and his mighty sword.

Releasing from my own publisher, my friend Philip Palmer’s Hell Ship comes out this month, and it looks awesome. I’ll be hanging with Philip in London, and will definitely be digging into this bad boy before I see him. It’s got a skull! And a pirate ship! And I heart it hard:

Last but certainly not least, my other fellow-Orbiter, Gail Carriger, is releasing Heartless today. Happy Book Birthday, Gail! Can’t wait to read it, as I’m a big fan of the series:

So there’s a roundup of some recent/new releases! As for me, I will also be released into the wilds of London tomorrow. I am stupidly excited to get back, as you can imagine. I’ll be there for a whole month, and it’ll be great to see all of my friends, and to finish my fifth book in the country where I wrote my first. It’s all circular, and shit. ;-) I can’t wait to see everyone, and to be back in a real city. I’m at a really good place in my life, and it’ll be nice to be in that great place while also being in an actual great place–London’s a fabulous city and it’ll be nice to give it real twirl rather than just being a regular, week-long tourist.

But don’t worry–I’m sure I’ll be blogging, Facebooking, and Tweeting from London, have no fear! In the meantime, feel free to read some good books. There’s a ton coming out over the summer!

 

Published on June 30, 2011 in Eye of the Tempest, Pimpage! and Reviews. 5 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

Guest Post: The FABULOUS Sophie Littlefield!

Sophie Littlefield has quickly become one of my all time favorite people. I was lucky enough to meet Sophie, Juliet Blackwell, and Rachael Herron almost a year ago, at Romantic Times. Basically, we ran into each other a few times drinking (as one does, at Romantic Times), and they said, “You are are ours now, Nicole.” I’ve never been so happy to be claimed.

Sophie is brilliant, outrageously talented, and hilariously funny. Her Bad Day crime books are gritty and riveting, and she recently came out with a YA  novel, Banished. Now, however, she’s coming home to mama with the release of her own urban fantasy novel, Aftertime.

So let’s welcome Sophie to the Emporium! Here’s her guest post, and she’s been generous enough to offer a contest, the details of which I’ll post at the end.

Welcome Sophie!

Sophie’s Post

I was at Target today with my daughter, waiting in line to pay and listening to her describe the essay she is writing for her English class titled “The Use of Metaphor in Ayn Rand’s ANTHEM”, when I received two emails in a row. **

The first was from Nicole, inviting me to be a guest on this blog (yay!)

The other was from my friend Meredith Barnes, a fantastic young agent I’ve gotten to know in the last year or so. I’d been whining to Meredith that I didn’t feel very inspired lately, so she wrote me back a list of words meant to inspire me (“you might use these as metaphors in the pithy posts you’re about to write” she suggested). The list included: Onion, Horse, Gastrointestinal Tract, Fate, and Shopping. ***

So here, without further ado, courtesy of Nicole and inspired by Meridith – “Metaphor in AFTERTIME.”

Onion – In the book AFTERTIME, most of the nation’s crops and plant species have been wiped out by bioterrorism. The failing government seeded the land with an engineered plant called kaysev, which provides full-spectrum nutrition and keeps people alive – but an all-kaysev leaves people hungry for variety. When, after several months, plants from Before (including the humble yellow onion) begin to return, they are met with great joy as a symbol of rebirth. (Incidentally, the second book in the series is titled REBIRTH and will be out in August ’11.)

Horse – Interestingly, I don’t care for horses. Horses and chickens. I grew up rural so I can tell you with authority that these are not smart creatures. Give me a pig, a goat, a dog any day, but horses – no thanks!  One of the cool things about writing fiction is that you can make the world WHATEVER YOU WANT. Ergo, in the fictional world of AFTERTIME, there are no horses.

Only…as often goes with my kneejerk reactions, I started to feel a little guilty about my rigid stance. My kids like horses. Horses are pretty. It’s entirely possible my attitude about horses goes back to a certain unfortunate episode involving a pony ride in 1974. So…when I started the third book in the series (HORIZON! Out in March ’12! Look at me, doing promo!) I put in a horse, as a sort of nod to my own hypocrisy.

In this case, the horse bears a rider with news from the east. That’s plenty evocative of legend, right?

Gastrointestinal Tract – So when you’re living in a zombie-ridden post-apocalyptic world, medical care is hard to come by. When I sat around imagining this world, I kept thinking about all the ways that modern medicine has improved our lives. My daughter’s burst appendix and a blood clotting episode would have been mortal without it. My husband’s kidney stones would have literally killed him.

In the third book, I’ve introduced a character with an unknown but worsening malady that affects her stomach and appetite. Because there are few doctors, no equipment, and little medicine, all she can do is wait and see what happens to her. So her gastro tract has become a symbol for the greater unknown, which leads us to…

Fate – I have some fun with religion in the series, if you can call evil cults and power-abusing priestesses and ever-present crises of faith “fun”. The truth is that I was playing a lot with ideas about destiny and how we, mere humans, can choose our own. Fate and faith are, for me, irrevocably intertwined. (Blah blah blah – I do go on so.) So what symbolizes the Hand of God in the books? Perhaps a little giant sequoia seedling that Cass and her lover stumble on early in AFTERTIME – it’s vulnerable, and yet inevitable.

And finally…

Shopping – After civilization falls and Beaters start eating people, there’s no money, no banks, no stores, no commerce. And yet, the human spirit is unquenchable, so before long, commerce renews itself in various forms. In the Box – a walled city where Cass takes refuge – you can trade valuables (nonperishable food, water, medicine, clothing) for drugs, alcohol, sex and more. A form of shopping, yes? – so I suppose that shopping represents the immutability of human behavior: you can give folks kaysev, shelter, even love, but at the end of the day, they’re still going to want to make a deal.

**My daughter wants me to point out that if she actually called an essay “The Use of Metaphor in Ayn Rand’s ANTHEM” she would get docked for a lack of originality. The essay in question was eventually titled “The Middle Ground: An Achievable Utopian Society.” I stand corrected!

*** I sure hope I’m not giving out FinePrint Literary Agency trade secrets!  Oh wait – if you do want to know their trade secrets, look no further!

Thank you so much to Nicole for inviting me, and join the discussion if you’d like your own copy of AFTERTIME – signed by the author!

Thank YOU so much, Sophie! To win an autographed copy of Aftertime, I want you guys to come up with your own “original title” for an imaginary essay of your choice. For example: “Nomming Towards Destiny: Images of Eating in Tempest Rising” or “A Pretty Day For Female Empowerment: How Sophie Littlefield Imagines the Feminine Capacity for Violence.”

Don’t worry, the essay title is just to enter and to make me giggle, so they can be as silly or ridiculous as you want to make them. I’ll pick the winner, at random, next Friday, March 4th.

And if you haven’t read Sophie’s books, believe me–you are missing out! I couldn’t put down her Bad Day series, and I’m so excited for Aftertime! Yay Sophie!

Published on February 25, 2011 in Contests and Guest Blogs. 15 Comments Tags: , .

Jane True Über Alles!

First of all, let me crow to the winds that I’ve just sent Book Four, Eye of the Tempest, off to my editrix! I always have stuff to do to them at this stage, so it’s not done. But it’s a HUGE first step. And, again, I’d like to thank my AMAZING beta readers (Christie Ko, James Clawson, and Mary Lois White), along with my critique partner, the lovely Diana Rowland, for giving me great ideas for revisions on this round. The book is 100% stronger now than it was when they received it the first time, and that’s all because of their great insights and suggestions. I have the best friends EVAH.

And speaking of cool friends, check this out! Sophie Littlefield, about whom I blogged last week, was named as one of 2010s Most Notable crime authors by the New York Times! Here’s the link! I’m so excited for her, I could spit. I’m so lucky to have such talented people in my life, especially when they’re also awesome human beings who enjoy meat from zeppelins!

I’m also lucky to have my books out in Germany! You can read my excellent German (I am so fluent!) here. There’s a “search inside” sort of deal like they have on Amazon, that allows you to flip through the first forty pages. I’ve also got an interview with Darkstar up in English and in German. Isn’t my German amazing?

And I warned you that I’d probably have another REALLY ACCURATE German cover for the sequel, and I was not disappointed. For Splash 2, I mean, Tracking the Tempest, we have the following:

While this appears to be a book about how Mermaid-Barbie kidnaps and tortures Santa’s favorite reindeer, it’s actually Tracking the Tempest. Okay, they are beautiful covers, and I’m very grateful to be published in Germany. But if you picked this up expecting some Little Mermaid-esque shenanigans, don’t blame me!

Published on December 5, 2010 in Eye of the Tempest, Pimpage!, Tempest Rising and Tracking the Tempest. 10 Comments Tags: .

This Just In: San Francisco and LitCrawl!

I’m a big fan of crawling: nightcrawling, pubcrawling, dropped-my-contact-crawling . . . and now LitCrawling!

After having planned a completely spontaneous, last-minute trip to go see my lovely friend, Jana, in San Francisco, I sent one of my typically annoying emails to Orbit’s ever-patient (and most probably magical) publicist, Jack. It read something like, “OMG! Wow, like, I’m ummmm gonna be in San Fran for like a few days–we’re going to eat from those zeppelins of meat!–so, um, could I do something there, and stuff? for the books? And stuff?”

Jack, once again, translated (hence the patient part) my mindless patois and then (magically!) found me an event to glom myself on to like an overzealous leech.

On Saturday October 9th, I’ll be appearing with the lovely Gail Carriger, amongst others, for LitQuake’s LitCrawl, at Borderlands, from 7:15-8:15. Full details can be found here, on my appearances page.

Shenanigans occur when Gail and I are together, as you can discover if you click on the pic…

As for other things I’m doing, I’ll be attending Whiskyfest that Friday night (so don’t light up any cigarettes near me on Saturday; we both may go up in flames from the fumes). I’ll also be taking my Oldest Favorite Lady, Jana, to meet some of my Newest Favorite Ladies at The House of Prime Rib. Rachael Herron, Juliet Blackwell, Sophie Littlefield, Jana and I plan on reenacting the scene from Anthony Bourdain’s visit to SF, where he gets rather blottoed and waxes poetic about the House of Prime Rib’s zeppelins of meat.

If one of us hasn’t nestled inside one of these fuckers by the end of our visit, then we obviously need another round.

I’m so excited for October, San Francisco, old and new friends, and ZEPPELINS OF MEAT! Come share my excitement with me at Borderlands! :-)

Published on September 16, 2010 in Music, My Travels and Over at Orbit Books . . .. 11 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: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .