Today Patry Francis’ first book The Liar’s Diary hits the stand. What should be the most exciting time for an author has taken a nasty turn. Patry has been diagnosed with cancer and is forced to postpone her promotional campaign. Mario and I want to wish her our best and ask that the next time you visit your local bookstore, you remember her and Liar’s Diary. Or click through on this link to her blog and order on line.

Though I'm still bitter that I can't watch him on Torchwood, an interesting interview with James Marsters in TV Guide contained this gem:

TV Guide: So is the Spike spin-off absolutely dead now?

Marsters: I don’t think it’s absolutely dead. I told Joss that I didn’t want to do the character as an old vampire, which would be really sucky. [Laughs] But I’m holding up better than I thought I would. With the right lighting, we might be able to get away with it.

Heh..heh..heh!!

Some book stuff from the WSJ: Dan Brown’s next novel (originally expected sometime in 2005) is still MIA. Neither his agent nor his publisher had much to say on the subject except that the “manuscript is close.” Think any of us mid-list authors could get away with being three YEARS late in delivering a book? I think not!

Clive Cussler’s agent and publisher have been dragged into the Philip Anschutz’s suit over the financial failure of the movie “Sahara.” After a fourteen-week trial, a LA court found Cussler in breach of contract with the producers of the film. This Colorado suit is seeking damages blaming Simon & Schuster, Penguin Group and the Peter Lampack Agency for inflating book sales figures to make their original deal.

Two bits of fluff—a kitten got packed in a suitcase by mistake. The suitcase got claimed at the airport by the wrong person. When the guy opened the suitcase and a kitten jumped out, the guy said he “screamed like a little girl.” You gotta love a guy who admits to screaming like a little girl. But all’s well—the kitten was returned safe and sound to her owners.

British billionaire Richard Branson and aerospace designer Burt Rutan unveiled a vehicle they hope will be able to take tourists 62 miles above the earth. The ship could be completed and test flown by the end of the year. An airplane would carry the ship into the sky, the spacecraft would separate from the plane and rocket into space. It can carry six passengers and two crew members. Take me, take me!!!

Okay—last two days to catch my gig at the B&N Book club. It’s been a blast.



And don’t forget the Haiku contest… Vamprowler sent us a really neat 12” baby alien inflate to add to the awesome stash of prizes. This pic does not do it justice…it’s 12”!!!!! Check out her website for other really kewl stuff.




Okay, what you've all been waiting for: my Haiku extraordinaire --




Two hearts beat as one
Betrayal, destruction, hate
One heart beats no more

Way better than Mario’s right? Right???

And speaking of the man, check out Mario’s webpage for Kama Sutra—Mario says the vampires are doing yoga…I have one question—where’d the vampires get wings? And one comment--doing yoga? Yeah, sure.. .

Speaking of the devil: this just appeared on one of my loops and I could NOT resist:

Man gets 20 years after 1,500-pound drug bust
Posted by The Grand Rapids Press January 23, 2008 05:10AM
Categories: Breaking News

OLIVE TOWNSHIP -- Two men involved in shipping nearly 1,500 pounds of marijuana to Olive Township from Mexico were ordered to federal prison terms Tuesday.

Ricardo Cornejo, of Mission, Texas, will sentenced to the longest term of his three co-conspirators, court records show. U.S. District Judge Paul Maloney ruled Cornejo must serve 20 years behind bars.

Holland resident Mario Acevedo was ordered to spend eight years for his role in the trafficking. Ruben Reyna was earlier ordered to 6 1/2 years and a fourth man, Gabriel Rubalcava, will be sentenced in March.

Of course, we know it's not OUR Mario-- He doesn't live in Texas. And if he made that kind of money, he'd dress better! :-)  ¶ posted by Jeanne Stein @ 5:02 AM  7 comments

  We all suck
Mario here,

The response to our Quick and Dirty Valentine's Haiku contest is going great. The deadline is February 11. Remember, dig deep into those emotional reservoirs of bitterness and regret. We're not writing for Hallmark. So what if you think you suck, hey this is the place for sucking. We write about vampires.

Submit your haiku entry HERE.

To sweeten the deal, we have a new shipment of Devil Ducks. Jeanne won't say where she got them but the semi-trailer has the markings spray-painted over and the locks look like they were shot off.

We have yet another awesome contest. Tomorrow through Friday, Biting Edge alumnus Marta Acosta will run a contest on her blog for Justin Gustainis's new novel Black Magic Woman. Click AQUI to play.

I got a little bit of bad news. This afternoon I went to a local coffee shop and the doors were locked. The place always had as many customers as any Starbucks so I wonder what's going on. Fortunately there was a bar down the street and I commiserated with beer.

Here's my entry for the worst fashion trend of 2008 from Gawker. This abomination even has a name. It's called a Skullet. You are warned.

  ¶ posted by Mario Acevedo @ 7:40 PM  2 comments

  Make it Quick and Dirty
Mario here:

Here's your chance to get even. You know what I mean. Get back at those ex's (or your SO if he, she, they keep pissing you off!).

Maybe the worm of vengeance isn't eating at your heart. Maybe you want to express those naughty thoughts that make your loins tingle.

How?

With the First Official Biting Edge Quick and Dirty Valentine's Haiku Contest.

Send us your haiku about love, lust, erotic adventure, or plain knife to the back revenge.

A haiku poem has an unrhymed, three line format of five, seven, and five syllables as in:

Woman in a tight
red dress enters the room, no
need for viagra

What's at stake?


Swag! A Coveted Devil Duck. An authentic UFO souvenir. Magnets. Collectibles. It's a treasure trove so tempting Dick Cheney would sneak out of his secret undisclosed location to confiscate it all.

Post your entries as comments to this blog. Share your thoughts. (We at Biting Edge World Headquarters reserve the right to delete crappy stuff.)

Deadline: Midnight (GMT) Monday, Feb 11, 2008. The winner announced, when else? Valentine's Day.

Now go work yourself into a lather and write!  ¶ posted by Mario Acevedo @ 6:36 AM  44 comments

  Whew-- got rewrites finished (finally) for the fourth Anna Strong (Legacy) and hopefully, can now concentrate on the fifth. Found out that the German edition of The Becoming was released, but so far, haven’t seen a copy. Hope I do. I keep hearing about people getting their foreign editions and how much fun it is to see your book in a different language with a different cover. I’m looking forward to it.

More on the suit over the Harry Potter companion edition being proposed by RDR Books. J. K. Rowling still intends to go ahead with the injunction since she intends to write one of her own. In her words: I have stated on my web site, in numerous interviews in the press and elsewhere that I intend to publish a definitive guide to all of the creatures, characters, places, and other elements that comprise the Harry Potter world. Just as I did with the first two companion books, I will donate royalties from such a companion book to charity. There was also buzz that she may not be finished with HP yet—she may have another tale or two to tell.

The Penguin/Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award has reached the semi-final stage. Below are the names and links for local Denver Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers who made the first cut. Go on line, read the entries and comment if you’d like. Finalists will be announced March 3.

E Z Roadifer - THE ORACLE http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0012658OY

Beth Groundwater - VIRTUAL DEATH http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0011ZCAME

William E. Mason - PRIMORDIUM http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0011ZCADI


Terry Wright - THE PEARL OF DEATH http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00124CON4

Karen Albright Lin - AMERICAN MOON http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00121WESW



Are you watching Sarah Connor? I really like what they’re doing with that series. Summer Glau is perfect as a cyborg. She has the same blank-faced inquisitiveness that Arnold had in the movies. Here’s a bit of fun with Summer and a Good Day LA Interview. And I hear that the HBO series Dexter is coming to CBS! Thank you, writer’s strike. Now I know it will be edited to hell and back, but some of the fun should come through.

What are you doing instead of watching TV? If you get really bored, remember to drop by the Barnes and Noble book club. I’m still there, answering questions, chatting about this and that.

Till next time--

PS Be thinking about a topic for our next Biting Edge writing contest--maybe bloody valentines? Mario and I have been collecting more fabulous prizes...

PPS Welcome back Sandy! You were missed...

PPPS Couldn't resist this. The caption reads: Hey mom, come look at the kittens!

  ¶ posted by Jeanne Stein @ 4:42 AM  1 comments

  I got a new car! Mario here:

One of the items on my Gee-whiz, wouldn't it be nice for 2008 list was a new car. And I got it, sorta. I was at a potluck dinner last Saturday and afterwards we had a white elephant gift exchange. I got a model of a Mercedes-Benz SSK which looks like this but is not as nice. (Still, I played with it when I got home. I love making car noises.)



This coming Thursday I'll be at the Book Rack in Ft. Collins signing with New York Times Bestseller, Carrie Vaughn. 7PM. See you there.













Here's a candidate for the Exceptionally Cheesy sign award. Would you work here?







  ¶ posted by Mario Acevedo @ 8:39 PM  10 comments

  Well, I guess the big news in the publishing world is the plagiarism charge being leveled against popular romance writer Cassie Edwards. The web blog Smart Bitches Who Love Trashy Books, "posted numerous excerpts from Edwards' novels and placed them alongside passages from reference books and magazines that were found by using the Google search." In a New York Times article Candy Tan and Sarah Wendell, the blog’s co-authors, indicated that "while Edwards may not have infringed copyright law, they consider her actions unethical.” Check the link if you want to follow the whole sordid story.





The coolest thing I got for Christmas this year was the complete 007 movie set—from Dr. No to Daniel Craig in Casino Royale. I love James Bond. Love the novels and I have them all: Ian Fleming’s originals, John Gardner’s (commissioned by the Fleming estate to continue the series,) and Raymond Benson’s (who took over from Gardner.) Next May, Sebastian Faulk will release Devil May Care. Faulk is the latest to pen a Bond novel, the release date coinciding with the centenary of Ian Fleming’s birth.









But I digress. Back to the movies. This set is fantastic—21 movies. The only two missing are the spoof of Casino Royale starring David Niven (which I never liked—I take my Bond seriously) and the Sean Connery Never Say Never Again, which was not done by the Broccoli film group. My husband and I are starting at the beginning to watch them in chronological order. Each DVD also comes with a special features disk that gives lots of really cool information. Like, do you know what Gert Frobe (Goldfinger), Ursula Andress (Honey Ryder) and George Lazenby (James in his one and only Bond movie, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service) have in common? All had their voices dubbed! I’ll bet you didn’t know that, did you?

Now, it makes no sense for me to like Bond—I’m a fan of kick-ass females—but there’s something delicious about his direct approach to crime fighting. On second thought, maybe it makes perfect sense for me to like him.

















And speaking of kiss ass females—did you catch Terminator: The Sarah Connor chronicles? Talk about kicking ass—They’ve certainly come up with some interesting one-sheets to advertise this series! I love it. The link connects you to an interview with Summer Glau, the cyborg assigned to help Sarah and John. I love how they title it “A Star is Born” as if her work in Serenity and Firefly never existed!

Well, we Whedon fans know different, don’t we?

Want to share your favorite gifts this year?

PS – The Barnes and Noble feature is still going on so stop by…. Ask a question, leave a comment. You may even learn things about me you never knew.  ¶ posted by Jeanne Stein @ 6:10 AM  12 comments

  Fantasy writers on a roll Mario here:

Today I attended a signing at the Denver Book Mall for fellow fantasy writers Carrie Vaughn and Lynda Hilburn.



Carrie's fourth book in her werewolf series, Kitty and the Silver Bullet, made #20 on the New York Times Massmarket Bestseller list. Big YEAH! for that.

Last week, Jeanne plugged her appearance on Barnes&Noble's Paranormal Fantasy online Book Club. Don't be a weenie. Join the fun and click here.

I'm slogging away on book four of my vampire series. We've had a spell of good weather and for some reason I took a turn for the worse. I survived the weekend living on cherry cough drops.

Last year I had an article published in one of the great contemporary literary journals, Modern Drunkard. They've posted my article online. Click here to enjoy.




Cheers!  ¶ posted by Mario Acevedo @ 8:33 PM  1 comments

  Some cool things to start the New Year—


Congratulations to Boulder author Carrie Vaughn whose new book Kitty and the Silver Bullet debuted #23 on the NYT bestseller list!

Follow the link for a teaser to the new movie National Treasure, Book of Secrets. There is a beer truck in the scene—a Fuller’s beer truck—which is one of the brands represented by Distinguished Brands, the company I do a beer newsletter for.













Then, here are pics of my friend Patty Millsap who is probably the San Diego Chargers biggest fan. In fact, she’s on her way to Indy this week for the playoff. She’s one of the Charger Backers head honchos. She said these were taken on her birthday and the way the Chargers are playing, she got one mighty nice present.



The top 10 most "literate" cities were ranked and there’s Denver at #4. The criteria were support for and commitment to reading. Snow days probably contribute to that.

1 Minneapolis
2 Seattle
3 St. Paul
4 Denver
5 Washington, D.C.
6 St. Louis
7 San Francisco
8 Atlanta
9 Pittsburgh
10 Boston

A pretty cool real estate website—Haunted House listings! For real...

Chuck Norris is suing Penguin over a book called “The Truth About Chuck Norris: 400 facts about the World's Greatest Human." Evidently he has issue with “facts” like his tears cure cancer or he can charge a cell phone by rubbing it against his beard. The suit, filed in Manhattan federal court, seeks unspecified monetary damages for trademark infringement, unjust enrichment and privacy rights.

And a gentle reminder, I’m being featured on Marta Acosta’s blogspot this week and all month at the Barnes & Noble Paranormal/Urban Fantasy online book club. Stop by and ask a question or post a comment if the spirit moves you.  ¶ posted by Jeanne Stein @ 4:18 AM  2 comments

  The return of the Nymphos Mario here:

First, the really good news. The Nymphos of Rocky Flats is now out in massmarket paperback. Which means it's cheap enough for any budget. Here's the new cover in radioactive green:



This last Saturday I was a speaker at the Denver Women's Press Club, thanks to Linda Berry. The other speakers included: super-duper wordsmith Cindi Myers, and fellow Colorado Book Award finalists, Rebecca Rowe, and Ann Parker (the winner!). Here I am spoiling an otherwise nice picture:



Coming in March is Left Coast Crime 2008. We've got a treat if you can make it (and sign up). The Mile High Murder Machine, a tour of famous Denver murders and we include complimentary tequila. To give you an authentic experience, we've reserved the prison bus:



Bring your own handcuffs if you're into that sort of thing.

And finally, if you enjoy all things speculative (as in fiction), then check out: sf-colorado.
  ¶ posted by Mario Acevedo @ 9:01 PM  7 comments

  HNY! You’re probably tired of hearing that by now. There is, however, something optimistic about the start of a new year. This is the time to take out that gym membership (this year, how about going more than once?) start that new book (and finish it) lose that ten pounds (okay, so now I’m pushing it) volunteer or donate (or better yet, both) to those less fortunate. All well within the realm of possibility. All doable. Let’s make a pact…

Officially started 2008 with friends Suzy and Dennis Perkins (and their kitten Bingo who would not be ignored during the festivities.) Now I don't know how many of you are familiar with the cable network Speed TV, but I'd never watched before. We became so involved in a Barrett-Jackson car auction that we (A) didn't even play one game of Elvis Pinball the entire night and (B) almost missed the big ball drop with Dick Clark. Anyway, it was a gas and the highest selling car was a DeSoto tha went for $230,000. Warning: this stuff is addicting.

New Year's Day found us in the mountain home of fellow critique partners Margie and Tom Lawson who hosted their annual New Year’s Day Open House. They live outside Boulder in a dream of a log cabin and from their writing desk, the view of snow capped mountains and trees and blue, blue sky is an inspiration in itself. This year, however, we missed two of our critique buddies—Jeff, of course, and Sandy Maren who is off on a journey of discovery. You can follow Sandy through her Nomad’s Kitchen Table blog page. Which, I might add, has not been updated since Christmas Day. Come on, Sandy, where are you????

Marta Acosta is posting a Q & A we did starting on her website, Vampwire, January 7. There’s a contest running as well, so drop in. I’ll answer questions or comments. Nothing’s sacred so fire away.

It’s been pretty quiet on the media front, though there are a couple of stories that I found interesting:

Joss Whedon has confirmed that Ripper - the proposed Buffy spin-off starring Anthony Head - is still going ahead… Whedon, speaking to SFX magazine, stated : "Ripper - or whatever Tony [Head] and I get to make - isn’t imminent, but it’s absolutely on the slate. The Beeb (BBC) has been grand about it."

And shocking though it is to report, Eminem’s mom reported that the rapper LIED about his childhood! He’s not trailer trash after all. Anybody who knew his first name is Marshall could have guessed that! Anyway, she’s writing a book (of course.)

And speaking of books that should never be written, Lynne Spears book on parenting has been put on hold when it was revealed that her sixteen year old daughter Jamie Lynn, sister of she who shall remain nameless, is pregnant by her nineteen year old boyfriend. Even I can’t think of anything to add to that—well, except maybe the irony that the book was to be published by a Christian publisher.

Now, here’s something really COOL—A robot that pours beer. I still can’t figure out how to post YouTube stuff so follow the link. This is being billed as the Best Robot Made to Benefit Humanity in Terms of Direct Impact on Humans— Who am I to argue? What do you think, Jeff? Want one?

Oh, and one last thing. January is Jeanne Stein month on the Barnes & Noble Paranormal/Urban Fantasy online book club. If you have any burning questions you’d like to ask, here’s your chance. I promise to answer everything.  ¶ posted by Jeanne Stein @ 4:59 AM  4 comments