Saturday Briefs

AUTHORS

Shanna Swendson is guest blogging today over at Myth, the Universe and Everything.

Scooper poses the following question to authors:

If a reviewer isn’t thrilled (and writes that) with your book and requests an ARC of one of your upcoming novels, would you give it to them or tell them to shove it? How do you feel about negative reviews? What turns you off about a review site? If you could change one thing about the way I review books, what would that be?

Mark Henry interviews author Jeri Smith-Ready at the League of Reluctant Adults blog.

BOOK REVIEWS

Praxisism reviews American Gods by Neil Gaiman.

Sidhevicious reviews Unshapely Things by Mark DelFranco

 

[INTERVIEW] The Saturday Seven with Author Tate Hallaway

Today we have an interview with Tate Hallway, author of the Garnet Lacey series of books. Welcome Tate!

UFL: For those that may not be familiar with your books, could you tell us a bit about The Garnet Lacey series and about yourself?

Well, I’m an, ehm, pleasingly-plump forty-something Scorpio witch living in the capitol city of Saint Paul, Minnesota, with five cats and five fish and my soon-to-be-five year old son.

The Garnet Lacey series started with Tall, Dark & Dead (Berkley Trade, 2006) and it follows the exploits of a reed-thin, thirty-something Aquarius witch living in the capitol city of Madison, Wisconsin, with a cat allergic to magic and a vampire boyfriend.

Dead Sexy (2007) continues Garnet’s adventures adding a dash of ex-boyfriend, sexy FBI agents, and frat boy zombies. The third book is available now, Romancing the Dead (2008), and there might werewolves and ghouls, oh my!

 

Jocelynn Drake discusses inspiration and more!

AUTHORS

Jocelynn Drake is blogging about inspiration today. Here is a snippet:

It may come as a complete shock to some people, but I am a very big Nine Inch Nails fan. I know, vampire writer likes loud, angry industrial music – who would have guessed it?!? However, a while ago, Nine Inch Nails released a new album (Ghost I-IV) of instrumental music inspired by a series of images. Being the loyal devotee of Nine Inch Nails, I purchased a set of the music that included a book of the inspirational images.

Here is the cover art for the German release of Succubus Blues by Richelle Mead. I think it’s gorgeous.

And here is the cover art for Colleen Gleason’s next release When Twilight Burns. Read an excerpt here.

BOOK REVIEWS

Kimberly reviews Personal Demons by Stacia Kane.

Ciaralira reviews Moon Called by Patricia Briggs

Wicked Melody reviews Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris.

Scooper reviews Hidden by Eve Kenin.

PUBLISHING NEWS

Stacy Hague Hill of Tor is guest blogging over at the Magical Words author blog today.

 

Melissa Marr with 2 books on the NY Times Bestseller lists and more!

AUTHORS

Melissa Marr’s Ink Exchange is #5 on the NY Times Children’s Hardcover list and Wicked Lovely is at #10 on the NY Times Children’s Paperback list. Congratulations Melissa!

Rachel Vincent interviews Jeri Smith-Ready over at Fangs, Fur & Fey. Here is a snippet:

RACHEL: Jeri, the biggest surprise for me when I read Wicked Game was that it’s told in present tense. Because of that, I honestly wasn’t sure how much I’d like it. But I loved it! What made you decide to write this particular novel in present tense? Were there any particular challenges associated with that choice? Will future Ciara Griffin novels also be written in present tense?

JERI: It was a decision based on the character and the story. Ciara, the first-person narrator, is a former(-ish) con artist. Lying is second nature to her (or possibly first nature). If she tells the story in past tense, a reader might not trust her account of events—she might be coloring things to put herself in a better light. But if readers experience the events with her, they can trust her more. So basically, I used present tense to get around the problem of the unreliable narrator. I’ll continue to do so, unless Ciara suddenly becomes a saint.

Kelly at Wyrdsmiths interviews Jeri Smith-Ready as well.

BOOK REVIEWS

Jes Battis reviews Blood Engines by T.A. Pratt.

Books4Ever reviews Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr.

Kimberly reviews Lover Enshrined by J.R. Ward.

Scooper reviews Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer

Gladiolii reviews One Foot in the Grave by Jeaniene Frost.

TV NEWS

CBS has canceled the vampire television series Moonlight. From Entertainment Weekly:

Pink slips were handed out today to CBS dramas Shark and Moonlight. Shark, which starred James Woods as a prosecutor, was averaging 10.3 million viewers, while Moonlight, the sexy vampire series, only attracted 7.5 million this season. CBS will officially announce its schedule Wednesday in New York City.

 

Jeri Smith-Ready’s WVMP Launches Today and More!

AUTHORS

Jeri Smith-Ready is interviewed by David Coe, is guest blogging at Southern Fried Chicas today (Thanks Amie!) and WVMP the radio station from Wicked Game launches today!

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette interviews Charlaine Harris. (Thanks to Marta Acosta over at the Vampire Wire for this!)

SciFiChick interviews Kat Richardson. Here is a snippet:

SciFiChick: Underground releases this August. Can you give us a brief synopsis?

Kat Richardson: Harper’s friend Quinton asks her to look into the mysterious deaths and disappearances of homeless people around Seattle’s Pioneer Square when he fears he may be implicated in some of the deaths. As Harper investigates, she discovers ghosts, zombies, and that the deaths are all connected to the underground city that lies beneath Pioneer Square–Seattle’s original downtown. The deaths are not just freak accidents, but may be the work of a monster of ancient legend. Harper and Quinton will have to delve deep into the city’s past and some of its current unpleasant reality to solve the crimes and prevent more deaths while Seattle suffers in the grip of its coldest winter on record.

Patricia Briggs now has Mercy’s Garage t-shirts available at the Hurog Store! (Thanks Rinda!)

BOOK REVIEWS

Fantasy Book Critic reviews The Host and Scooper reviews New Moon by Stephenie Meyer.

Rachael reviews Biting the Bullet by Jennifer Rardin.

SciFiChick reviews Touch of Twilight by Vicki Pettersson.

Amberkatze reviews Happy Hour at Casa Dracula by Marta Acosta.

Kmont reviews The Darkest Night by Gena Showalter and from Dead to Worse by Charlaine Harris.

Angieville also reviews Dead to Worse by Charlaine Harris.

 

Tuesday Briefs

AUTHORS

Jackie Kessler as Jezebel interviews Jeri Smith-Ready as Ciara over at Cat and Muse.

Stephenie Meyer has posted an excerpt of The Host here.

Its Demon Week over at The League of Reluctant Adults. The Book Club is discussing Personal Demons by Stacia Kane.

BOOK REVIEWS

Jes Battis reviews Greywalker by Kat Richardson.

Angieville reviews The Host by Stephenie Meyer.

Gladiolii reviews Uninvited by Amanda Marrone.

 

Happy Release Day!

To Jeri Smith-Ready!

 

New T.A. Pratt Cover Art!

Here is the cover art for T.A. Pratt’s next book: Dead Reign which will be released October 28, 2008.

 

Monday Briefs

AUTHORS

C.E. Murphy discusses Her First Sale over at Dear Author and is interviewed over at Miladyinsanity’s blog.

Kimberly interviews Rachel Caine. Here is a snippet:

Can you tell us how long you’ve been writing, and how many books you’ve had published?

RC - I started writing when I was 14, but I didn’t sell anything until I was nearly 30 – long learning curve, I suppose! I published my first book, Stormriders, in 1992. Since then, I think the total is about 25 novels to date, with three more still to do this year.

BOOK REVIEWS

Kimberly reviews The Darkest Kiss by Gena Showalter and Feast of Fools by Rachel Caine..

Graeme reviews The Host and Scooper reviews Twilight by Stephenie Meyer.

Jes Battis reviews Hotter than Hell and AztecLady reviews Hell’s Belles by Jackie Kessler.

Book Smugglers reviews Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris.

LesleyW reviews Magic Burns by Ilona Andrews.

Joyfully Reviewed reviews Hell’s Belles by Jackie Kessler and has chosen it as one of their May Recommended Reads! Congratulations Jackie!

Sidhevicious reviews The Devil’s Right Hand by Lilith Saintcrow and Wicked Game by Jeri Smith-Ready.

Dear Author reviews Ink Exchange by Melissa Marr.

COVER ART

Here is the cover art for Bite the Bullet by L.A. Banks. It is the second in the Crimson Moon series and will be released September 30, 2008.

CONTESTS

Richelle Mead is giving away an ARC of Storm Born on her blog. Just determine which questions are NOT true and comment before 11:59 PDT on Saturday, May 17.

 

Jeaniene Frost Giveaway - We Have a Winner!

The Random Integer Generator picked Ana - commenter #33!!! Ana please send me your address information to lisa.trevethan@gmail.com

Thanks to everyone who participated and of course to Jeaniene!