Biting Edge

2008-05-14T06:55:00.000-07:00

Last week I sent the fifth book in the Anna Strong chronicles off to the publisher.
I’m now experiencing what I call postpartum depression. It happens every time I finish a book. So I have a ritual—clean house, organize my desk, catch up expense reports, get back to the gym, etc etc.

Only this time nothing is working. I’m still depressed. I pretend that I’m not. I’m sure no one I met last night at Janet Lane’s signing for her new Five Star release, Emerald Silk, had a clue. I’m very good at hiding my feelings. Have been since I was a kid.

Now I know next to earthquakes in China and cyclones in Myanmar, my angst is a pimple on a gnat’s ass. I shouldn’t even be mentioning it. But hey, we’re friends, here, aren’t we?

So, now that I’ve gotten that off my chest, let’s get on with some fun stuff.

Besides the aforementioned Emerald Silk, Jeri Smith-Ready’s Wicked Game was released this week. Check it out, too.

The newest author authorized (no pun intended) by the estate of Ian Fleming to continue the James Bond saga is Sebastian Faulks. His novel, Devil May Care, will be released the end of this month to mark the centenary of Ian Fleming's birth.

Buffy in Skin Games: Follow the link to choose your favorite of 21 Examples of Gratuitous Sex in TV—of course, any love scene between Buffy and Spike is listed… but what’s gratuitous about sex between Buffy and Spike? In fact, the hope that there would be MORE sex scenes between Buffy and Spike kept me coming (no pun intended) back.

One last note—Mario and I have both been nominated for Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers' Writer of the Year. Here’s your assignment—come up with ways for me to make Mario NOT appear to be the good guy he really is so people will vote for me… The best suggestion wins a devil duck… Beat you to it, Mario… heh-heh-heh

Wow-- being evil makes me feel better.

In Memoriam

2008-05-11T19:36:00.000-07:00

Mario writes:

You may not recognize his name or face but you know his artwork.

John Berkey, one of America's greatest illustrators, passed away on April 29, 2008. He was born in 1932. An extraordinary and popular artist, Berkey was named to the Society of Illustrators Hall of Fame which includes titans of American art such as Norman Rockwell, N.C. Wyeth, Frederick Remington, and John James Audubon. I bought many sci-fi paperbacks simply because I loved Berkey's magnificent cover art. Even though he was known for his spaceships, his poster for the Dino De Laurentiis King Kong remake (1976) may be Berkey's most famous artwork.

But Berkey was most regarded for his haunting and amazing impressionistic paintings of spaceships such as these:

Berkey lived a full and accomplished life but it's sad that he's passed on. There will be no more fantastic John Berkey spaceships to amaze us.

On a personal and more cheery note, the audio rights were sold for my first three books.

Don't forget the signing that Jeanne and I will be doing this Thursday, May 15, noon to 2PM at the Barnes & Noble at 555 East Arapahoe Road, Greenwood Village, CO, 80112.

2008-05-07T06:59:00.000-07:00

One of the best things about Romantic Times (besides having Adrian Paul’s arm around me) was meeting librarians and booksellers. Some of the booksellers were: Kathy Ross of Half Price Books in Springfield, MO, Blanche Nixon of Daniels Read-A-Lot Books in Asheboro, NC, Darlene Krogol and Lori Zyren of Another Look Books in Taylor, MI, and Sara Loftus of the Bookworm’s Attic in Huntington, WV. Sara is running a contest and one of the prizes is a book bag she had signed by a ton of attending RT authors. Hop on over to her website and enter today!!! Support your local indies—

Don’t have much to say today. It’s raining this morning, even had some lightening and thunder—odd for CO—thunderstorms usually roll in in the afternoon. It’s a good thing, though, because I’m working on edits and nothing like a stormy day to make you want to hunker down and write.

Last night we welcomed a new member to the critique group. Mario brought him in—Warren Hammond author of a futuristic techno/thriller sci/fi series. Check him out.

Next Thursday Mario and I are taking our dog and pony show on the road—signing together at Barnes & Noble at 555 East Arapahoe Road, Greenwood Village, CO, 80112. It’s an impromptu thing, we’ll be there on Thursday, May 15 from about noon to 2. Stop by if you’re in the area.

If you’re interested, follow this link to a fangs/fur/fey preview of snippets from works in progress. Lot’s of names you’ll recognize there--

A week of words and laughs

2008-05-04T18:20:00.000-07:00

Mario here:

NEWS FLASH! Check out my thoughts about the future on the Eos HarperCollins blog.

This week I've been settling back into my routine, which meant lots of writing, writing, and writing. And reading.

Finished Elaine Viets hysterical mystery, Shop till You Drop. Helen Hawthrone takes a dead-end job in an upscale boutique where she endures one indignity after another until murder and mayhem come to the store. Viets slices and dices our materialistic society with satiric observations:

On the screen was a photo of a luscious-lipped blonde in a tight black dress with a zipper up the front. In the next shot, Desiree was in a loose-fitting black body bag with a zipper up the front. Desiree's enormous breasts created a mountain in the body bag.

I'm working on Night Life by Caitlin Kittredge. She is May's featured author in the Barnes & Noble Paranormal and Urban Fantasy Bookclub. Drop in and say hello.

Jackie Kessler (left) chats it up with Caitlin on Richelle Mead's comfy red sofa.

Last Saturday I attended Lighthouse Writers Workshop's Inside the Writer's Studio, with novelist (and 5280 editor) Eli Gottlieb interviewing poet Mark Strand (take a deep breath--former Poet Laureate of the United States and Chancellor of The Academy of American Poets, plus three National Endowment of the Arts grants, fellowships from the MacAuthur Foundation and the Ingram Merrill Foundation, and much, much more). Here's Strand waxing poetically when he's actually about to knock back that martini. (Photo lifted from flickr)

After an afternoon of such high culture, that night I took the low road with a show by the Queen of Raunch, Margaret Cho. Nothing, nothing, was taboo or so funny.

2008-04-30T04:27:00.000-07:00

Am writing this with a brain that feels like it’s wrapped in cotton. Been battling what I thought was hay fever since I got back from RT only to find that it turned into a full blown cold. Egads—the second bout of this crap I’ve had in the last two months and always after a plane trip. I never used to get caught by these damn bugs.

Anyway, here are some photos from RT-- First two view out of my hotel window (just in case anybody was curious about what Pittsburgh looked like)

Not very good pic of a former Mr. Romance who landed at our table during the charity dinner. He was handsome, personable and very, very nice. The pic was taken by table buddy Marcia Collette.

Look close—that’s Fabio in the center. He really is nicer looking in person and has a quiet rather than flamboyant personality.

This is well known author Angela Knight and two of the cover models.

And ta-da here’s Angela and me and Adrian Paul. My deer in headlight expression says it all.

For a fantabulous RT round-up click on over to Jackie Kessler’s blog. And then onto Urban Fantasyland for the COMPLETE lowdown and more pics than you can shake a cover model at, including Mark Henry’s glamour shots.

Now on to some book news:

New York state has decided it needs money so badly it’s passed a law to collect sales tax on Internet sales. It’s expected to be challenged (duh).

And it looks like Cassie Edwards and publisher Signet have parted ways over those plagiarism claims. Signet says all rights have reverted to the author.

For fans of the Whedonverse (in honor of Dollhouse in production NOW--can we all say YEA!!!)

An interview with Anthony Stewart Head— (nothing to do with Dollhouse, but appropriate)

Joss Whedon’s ten shinest moments composed by Ben Lankester at Den of Geek (a site I love). Want to add your own?

Some then and now Buffy shots (again, not much to do with Dollhouse, just thought it was cool). Part Deux here.

And some Buffy action figures that are a bit strange. For instance:

Who knew Willow had boobs?

Last but not least, lots of new books out that you UF buffs might be interested in. Here's a link to check out the latest from the Fangs/Fur/Fey crowd.

Also, a new one from C.E. Murphy for your consideration.

So what’s happening in your world? I feel like I've been out of touch for a long time.

Circling back home

2008-04-28T09:24:00.000-07:00

Mario here:

I'm finally home from my book promotion swing: Tucson->Phoenix->L.A. I expected to post a lot of pictures but my camera started to have fits. (Didn't help that my water bottle leaked all over the camera.)

The tour started in beautiful Tucson. Here are my gracious hosts at Clues Unlimited, Chris and Marcelino. Sophie, their cute pot-bellied pig, was a no-show as she had to call it an early night. (Either that or she wouldn't stoop to having her picture taken with me.)

If you go to Tucson, check out at the 4th Avenue business district. It's full of funky shops and eateries such as this:

Translated literally from Spanish, the awning reads: Martins Fucking Good Food. Another local store is Hippie Gypsy, a throw-back poster head shop. While I was there (purely for research), I overheard a trio of Junior Leaguers (tourists, judging by their deep Southern accents) comment to the clerk that they couldn't buy glass pipes back home in Georgia.

Tuesday I spoke at the Mesquite Public Library in Phoenix. Here's Patrick King (with halo) who set up the signing.
That evening I spoke at Poisoned Pen in Scottsdale.

Wednesday I drove to L.A. (I stopped for gas in Blythe, where for the first time ever, I paid over $4/gal.) That afternoon, I met with Christina of Media Boulevard where we shared coffee at a Koreatown Starbucks.

Thursday I put on my tweeds and "lectured" at Cal State L.A. about how to write the genre novel.

Friday I appeared with Harry Shannon at the gruesome and entertaining Dark Delicacies in Burbank.

Saturday was the big day. I signed with Mysterious Galaxy at the L.A. Times Festival of Books. Met a huge number of fans and fellow writers. It was HOT! I almost melted.

I arrived late last night. Right now I'm surrounded by laundry, receipts, and lots of books. And that's stuff from my last two trips. Wait until I empty the luggage.

2008-04-23T03:18:00.001-07:00

I know I promised to post RT stuff and of course, didn't. To make up for it and to offer a tease-- here are three pics. I'm still on the road and when I get back, will load more including a picture taken with Adrian Paul at a charity function. Wow-- he's as good looking as ever!

This was taken at breakfast one morning. L-R: Rachel Vincent, moi, Mark Henry and Kim Harrison and her companion, Guy.

This was a panel, Urban Fantasy 101 with L-R: Kelley Armstrong, Jeri Smith-Ready, Keri Arthur, Rachel Vincent, me and (not pictured) Richelle Mead

The HUGE Saturday book signing event.

I will get more pictures off my camera and will post links to other writers and readers who put pics on their blogs. Romantic times is a conference like no other.

Beam Me Up!

2008-04-20T22:30:00.000-07:00

Mario here:

I spent the weekend at StarFest/HorrorFest here in Denver. Wow, what a great time! An extravanganza of fantasy. Witness a renewed appreciation for Ghostbusters:

There was plenty of creative nuttiness as in this karaoke. I'm not sure what the girl is doing with a triangle on her head but she was having fun providing backup vocals.

I met Nichelle Nichols. What an elegant woman and class act. Here she is in her much younger days as Lt. Uhuru.

Many of you may remember the Gun Bra. If you liked that, then check this out. Look at Dawn vamping alongside Beth who is showing off her impressive warheads.

April was my big travel month. First Norwescon in Seattle, followed by the Powell's signing in Portland. I sang hosannahs following my trip to Charleston. Tomorrow I leave for Tucson, Phoenix, and Los Angeles. Wish me luck.

Today I noticed a lot of kids wearing T-shirts emblazened with pictures of the marijuana leaf. A few even had the leaf painted on their faces. What was up with that? But course. Today is 4/20, the Holy Day for Potheads. So light 'em up if you got 'em.

2008-04-16T04:58:00.000-07:00

I know, I know, it's Wednesday. I got into Pittsburgh for Romantic Times after a twelve hour travel day-- Now it only takes about four hours to FLY to Pittsburgh-- but leaving at 5:30 am to catch a shuttle, spending an hour and a half in transit, another hour and a half at the airport, two hours in the air first leg, another hour in the airport til the connecting flight left, a two hour time difference....well, you get the idea. But I did get to have dinner with Richelle Mead, Jeri Smith-Ready, Mark and Caroline Henry and later, Jackie Kessler so the evening ended well. I'm going to break with tradition and try to post here and there during the week.

I wish you could all be here, too.

XO Jeanne

You know you want it

2008-04-13T21:06:00.000-07:00

Mario here:

It's another chance to win a Devil Duck. For those of you who don't know, I'm this month's pick in Barnes & Noble's Paranormal and Urban Fantasy book club. So it's an opportunity for a contest. Last week I noted that the most awesome book trailer of all time was mentioned on MediaBistro Galley Cat. The contest? It's my Lego vampire trailer against Second Life. You choose.

How do you win the Devil Duck? Go to the Barnes & Noble book club by following this LINK.

Simply post a comment on the B&N book club that you've seen the videos and you're in the running. Warning though. This Devil Duck has special mojo.

Last week I'd returned from my spectacular, life-changing trip to Charleston, SC. The trip started great when on the airliner, a guy two seats over was reading one of my books. Zowie!

During my trip I had plenty of time to read and I zoomed through two fabulous books by kick-ass women authors featuring, what else? Kick-ass female protagonists.

First up, Hallowed Ground by Lori G. Armstrong.

This novel won the Willa Literary Award from Women Writing the West and was nominated for a 2007 Shamus Award for Best Paperback Original by The Private Eye Writers of America. The story? PI Julie Collins is drawn into an investigation of a kidnapped girl when Collins is hired by a tattoed, bad boy biker business owner, Tony Martinez. Add the Mafia, crooked local businessmen, an estranged father, filter through the smoke and booze of hard-boiled noir and you've got one hell of a read. Collins is as tough as the Dakota landscape. No wimps on her social calendar. Armstrong knows how to carve her words into gritty prose.

Speaking of carving, here's a completely different story of ghosts, lost memories, and best of all, knife fights. Cherie Priest gives a literary dagger between your ribs with her southern gothic tale, Four and Twenty Blackbirds. Priest takes risks in presenting the saga of Eden Moore, an orphaned bi-racial young woman in search of her identity. Eden's stalked by an ancient magician keen on using the living to execute his demonic intentions. Did I mention knife fights? Priest takes a story about a society as haunted by their prejudices as by their fears and lays it out in compelling modern detail. If you're curious about Cherie Priest, check out her and her nose ring HERE.

Oh baby, I'm in love. Twice. But I won't say it as these two women can kick my ass.

2008-04-11T04:11:00.000-07:00

As promised—first hand report from my buddy Kris Bochum--

So...Paleyfest. i have been going to the Paley Festival for over 10 years - I’ve seen so many panels, including the first Buffy panel. Sdo it was great to see the reunion one as well. The tickets did sell out lickety split! There were so many people trying to get Paley tix the day they were available that the whole system crashed. So, I didn't actually get tix from Paley; I got mine on ebay - and for a very pretty penny, too, I might add.

So, I took a whole day off work to go, and my brother and I headed down to Hollywood around 11 am. And good thing we did too. Sunset Blvd was closed off for many, many blocks due to a protest. It took us about 45 minutes just to make our way from Hollywood and Highland to the parking structure! Egad! When we got down to the Cinerama dome, there were already people in line - one with tickets on one side (about 50 in line), one with no tickets in the "standby" line (about 20). we asked a few people when they got in line: 12 midnight & 3 am were the two times that were crazy. We went next door and shopped at amoeba records for awhile. Then, yep, we got in line - around 2:30 pm. where we stayed... it was pretty fun. lots of fans. some weirdos. Some rude-o's too. They let us in around 6 pm - and it was really nice to sit in seats, rather than on the sidewalk. Lots of rows were taped off, so we ended up kind of in the back. We were in the center though, so we thought we made out ok, considering.

Then we had to wait again, for about another hour. there was a woman behind us, she was with some organization - I want to say whedonopolis but I don't want to be wrong. Well, she was sitting right behind me and she was very very loud and at one point she stood up, walked to the end of the aisle and started shouting at the top of her lungs: 'Garth! Garth!' jean, I am telling you, I don' think I have ever seen (or heard) someone so absolutely rude before. I really couldn't believe that security didn't kick her out. Anyway, the hour passed and the president of the Paley center came out and talked about the Paley center and the son of the founder and the sponsors, and then about "Buffy." finally!

Matt Rousch from TV guide was the moderator. He was ok, not great but it helped that he was a fan and had actually watched the show and knew all about it. We were shown "once more with feeling" and it was really great seeing it on the big screen. Unfortunately for me personally, the woman behind me thought she was at a rocky horror picture show and was throwing in lines in between dialogue. I don't mind the singing with the show - quite the contrary, I’m all for it! But the endless one-liners were really obnoxious.

After the viewing of the episode, Matt Rousch came up and in order, he introduced the guests: David Greenwalt, Amber Benson, Seth Green, Charisma Carpenter, Marti Noxon Michelle Trachtenberg, Emma Caufiled, James Marsters, Nicholas Brendan, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Joss Whedon. (Alyson Hanigan and Eliza Dushku were no-shows).

Lots of questions were asked by the moderator, and then the audience got to ask some. Unfortunately, the first guest question took up about 20 minutes: what's your favorite movie and what's on your ipod?

To Emma: how'd you do that speech in the body, where you just break down? She had to pee really badly!

To Sarah from the mod: once and for all - Angel or Spike? She didn't choose.

Joss said he and David called Sarah Jimmy Stewart, cause she was so professional and always hit her mark. Sarah was asked about the comic book: did she know that her Buffy character had sex with a woman? Sarah laughed and said she had just found out 5 minutes before the show started. Joss said, well, experimenting and all that, hadn't we all been to college?

To amber: what was your reaction to 1) yours and willow's relationship? And Tara’s demise? She said she thought Tara and willow had the best relationship on the show and was glad that it happened. As for dying, she didn't get to answer so much as she was interrupted many times.
To Charisma: Angel or Buffy? Angel, as she got to do much more on that show.

After it ended, hundreds dashed for the stage for autographs. To their benefit, everyone stayed and signed autographs as long as they were allowed to (the Paley center people kicked them out). It was a lot of fun, I have to say. And I had heard a lot of bad things about Sarah Michelle Gellar, but she was very gracious and sweet and seemed genuinely sincere and happy to be there. Below are some pics for you, from the show. Remember, I was way in the back, so the lighting is kinda funky.

Not to worry, Kris-- For more PaleyFest Buffy and the gang photos, here's a link to MediaBlvd Magazine, where another pal, photographer extraordinaire Christina Radish, shows off her considerable talents.

2008-04-09T06:03:00.000-07:00

Not to be out done by gun-totin’ Chris Goff, Linda Anderson took these pics of Mario and I at Left Coast Crime. Do we look dangerous or what? Note Mario's Superman pose. Thanks, Linda--

In case you’ve been wondering, the winner was announced in Amazon’s Breakthrough Novel Award contest: Fresh Kills by Bill Loehfelm. If you follow the link you can read what the judge’s said about it.

Yippee!! James Marsters is coming to DragonCon. I chased him all over last year. Maybe this year with GA pal Carol Malcolm, we’ll catch him! This pic was taken by my friend Kris Bochum at Paleyfest. See *note* below.

Don’t even remember where I saw this, but it’s from a book by Timothy B. Benford. Does this 1680 coin have a flying saucer on it or what?

Every week there’s a new flap. By now you’ve probably all heard about a new Harper Collins publishing group that will offer authors profit-sharing instead of cash advances and eliminate returns. Friends in the movie business talk about the creative way companies can cook the books to show no profit made from popular and even block busting movies. Can the publishing business be far behind? That’s not to mention how most writers live on their advances since royalty statements are few and far between.

Is it a coincidence that right after Mario left South Carolina they voted out their blue laws? I think not. Probably figured out how much money they lost by denying him booze on Sunday.

Colorado lawmakers showed some intelligence by killing a bill that would ban the sale to minors of works that might be “harmful” to them because of sexual content. The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression played a critical role in defeating S.B. 125—good job. Must have been something in the air because they also voted to repeal our blue laws. If Ritter signs that bill, it goes into effect July 1.

Organizations, including the Authors Guild, are lining up to consider action against Amazon’s recent move to restrict POD publishers to their own in house publisher, Booksurge. Antitrust issues might be at stake.

On a personal note, still on target to complete the fifth Anna Strong adventure, Retribution, by deadline.

Next week, I leave for Romantic Times. If any of you are planning to attend, look for me at the following panels:

WEDNESDAY 12 -1
A Bite With a Twist - Infusing new blood in the vampire genre: A discussion about transfusing blood from other genres to keep vampires flourishing. Examine the cross-genre vampire novels of today with some of the genre's top authors. LA Banks, Rosemary Laurey,
Kim Harrison, Caridad Pineiro, Moderator: Jeanne Stein

Friday 11 -12
URBAN FANTASY 101
Everyone says it's the new 'it' genre, but what is urban fantasy anyway? How does it differ from paranormal romance? Are there rules about 'tough girl' protagonists and the amount of allowable sex? Richelle Mead, Kim Harrison, Kelley Armstrong, Jeri Smith-Ready, Jeanne Stein, and Rosemary Clement Moore discuss reader expectations and where an author draws those blurry genre lines.

Friday 4-5 PM
The Color of Blood: Tired of the same old brooding immortal? Find out how today's authors are borrowing blood suckers and heroes from other cultures in order to bring new blood to the vampire genre. Jacqueline Frank, Rene Lyons, Mandy M. Roth, Jeanne Stein, Moderator: Angela Night

And of course at the big book signing on Saturday.

**PS For all you Whedon/Buffy fanes—on Friday, I’ll post my pal Kris Bochum’s first hand report on Paleyfest. It must have been a blast! Pics included.

The not so Holy City

2008-04-06T19:00:00.000-07:00

Mario here:

NEWS FLASH! My book trailer got a mention on MediaBistro GalleyCat.

Let's remember Charlton Heston, shown here in his gun-toting hunky prime.

I recently got back from my most awesome visit to Charleston, SC. Yes, that Charleston, a.k.a. The Holy City because of all its churches and Wicked Charleston for...guess. (That's the awesome part). Home to pirates, patriots, and prostitutes. Lots of pics to share. All G-rated so go look for porn elsewhere.

This writing biz has allowed me to meet a number of wonderful people. At the top of that list are my hosts for this last trip, professional tour guides Rebel Sinclair and Mark Jones of Black Cat Tours. I met Rebel at the West Virgina Book Fair and we've kept in touch. When I told her that I was going to set one of my vampire books in Charleston, she and boyfriend Mark rolled out the red carpet which included a stop in the diviest of Charleston dives, Big John's Tavern. (Guess who is Mark and who is Rebel.)

A shot of Big John's with requisite bras hanging from the ceiling.

Classy place. When I asked for a Manhattan, the bartender replied, "Do you know where you are?" I settled for a series of rum and Cokes, sophisticated drinks for Big John's. Practically girly.

Charleston is as beautiful as it is historic. Here's one of the magnificent residential gardens. Marvel but keep your distance.

Being a southern town, the place is full of quirks like this address of zero, not one, but zero.

Prohibition forced communities to test the limits of sophistry for a simple quenching of one's thirst with an adult beverage. In Charleston they hosted blind tiger fights. Buy a ticket and you'd get complimentary drinks (it was illegal to sell alcohol but you could serve it). Then management would announce that the blind tiger was sick so no fight but you could buy a ticket for tomorrow's bout (with more complimentary drinks). Commemorate the not-so-sober past by seeing double at the present Blind Tiger Pub. I did.

Mark took me to the tunnels underneath the city where you could find shwag from the Revolution (death to Tories!) and the Civil War (bombardment parties!). Entry gained through a trap door in a liquor store, where else?

The trip wasn't all sightseeing. I had signings with CJ Lyons and Nina Bruhns in the local Barnes & Noble stores. Here is Community Relations Manager Ashley Burnes smirking as she puts autographed stickers on my books.

Mark fixed me up with a radio interview with John Dixon of WQSC.

Finally, time to return home. The rain picked up. On the way to the airport, Mark and I swung through town and found Rebel waiting for tourists with her percheron Chief hitched to the carriage.

No time to rest once I got to Denver. My sons and I accompanied fellow novelist Chris Goff and her family for a machine gun shoot near Fort Morgan. Wholesome Second Amendment entertainment. Here, Chris goes full auto with an AK47. Charlton Heston would've been proud.

Capping the weekend was a great signing at the Denver Book Mall.

With so much going on, the only thing left to do was scrounging an invitation to a blind tiger fight.

2008-04-02T04:55:00.000-07:00

Short one this week. Big news seems to be Amazon’s decision that they will no longer offer small-press books for sale on their web site unless they are printed by their own POD publisher. Once the 'in-stock' supply has been sold, the 'buy button' will be removed from the listing. If this is of interest or concern to you, a plethora of articles about it can be found here at Writers Weekly.

Rachel Vincent's newest,Rogue, hit the stands yesterday. She’s having contests on her blog (one of my books is a prize) so click through and enter. Oh, and buy the book!

Ever google yourself? I think this is kind of fun. I have a namesake in New York who plays bridge. Nice to see I’m not the oldest Jeanne Stein in the book….

Mario mentioned being featured writer on B & N this month—drop in and share the fun.

As for me, I’m 30 days from deadline on the fifth Anna—wish me luck. Also, will have an article in this month’s LKH fan newsletter. If you’re a subscriber, watch for it.

XOXOXOX

Norwescon and beyond

2008-03-30T19:07:00.001-07:00

Mario here:

First, the big news. I'm the April featured author at the Barnes & Noble Book Club for Paranormal and Urban Fantasy. Join the fun starting April 1st right HERE.

I'm still riding the high from Norwescon even though it was a busy week back on the ranch with signings at Murder By The Book and the Tattered Cover.

Last week, I missed posting this photo of the fancy digs inside Kat Richardson's boat (with hubby Jim looking from the ferret room).

Can't say Seattle takes itself too seriously with this statue of a troll eating a real VW bug.

After Norwescon, the gang did a road trip to Portland for a signing by Mark Henry and myself in the Powell's Beaverton store. Here are Richelle Mead and Caitlin Kittredge policing the stragglers.

We made the haj to the humongous Powell's downtown. I caught the ever restrained Mark Henry signing the author's wall.

Anna Strong was there.

That naughty Cherie Priest was trying to steal my hat.

Not that she needs it, but here's Cherie getting some beauty sleep.

Richelle has more pictures and comments on her blog, but remember, she writes fiction for a living.

This week, it's back into the air for Charleston, SC...werewolf territory.

2008-03-26T04:42:00.000-07:00

Good morning—

Lots of different stuff this time.

In LA there is thing called the Paleyfest described as “an extraordinary interactive pop culture event, connecting fans with the casts and creators of their favorite series…” Guess which series had a reunion panel? Buffy!! I have a friend who attended and I hope to have a first hand account for next week, but for now, here are some links to enjoy. Joss and Sarah and James and Brandon and Charisma and Emma and Seth were among the cast members who participated. I’ve heard tickets for this one sold out in two hours!

Getty Images: *
*http://tinyurl.com/2vbwr8

Matt Ausiello's overview:
http://community.tvguide.com/blog-entry/TVGuide-Editors-Blog/Ausiello-Report/Scoop-Spoilers-Secrets/800035980

Video highlights:
http://www.mtr.org/festivals/paleyfest2008/videos.htm

Matt Roush (he moderated the panel):
http://tinyurl.com/2mlohp
http://tinyurl.com/2ykw9f (his opening remarks)*

*The Futon Critic liveblogs the event:
http://www.thefutoncritic.com/rant.aspx?id=20080320

Links furnished by Buffybud Maria Lima.

Same theme, different tune—Culturegraph is kind of a unique concept. “Music, movies and art transformed into charts and graphs…pop culture on acid.” Here’s one submitted with a Buffy theme. Can you come up with any of your own? Let me know and I’ll post a link here next week.

And talk about timing, the first love scene between Spike and Buffy made the TV Guide’s list of hottest love scenes—at numero uno!!! I certainly remember it. Do you?

Ever see the Wolf Man with Lon Chaney Jr? It came out in 1941 so there's a good chance you didn't see it in the theatre. But surely you’ve seen it somewhere along the way. Well, Benicio Del Toro is set to star in the remake. The fabulous Rick Baker is doing make-up. Here’s a glimpse of his magic.

And from Mario on the road—a pic of him with author Caitlin Kittredge from pal Richelle Mead’s Blog. He’s talking to a wolf—a wolf –where the hells the devil duck? Check out Richelle’s blog for more fun and games.

And last but not…well, you know. Here’s the cover for the fourth Anna book, Legacy. Comes out in September.

The Fantastic Northwest

2008-03-24T08:28:00.000-07:00

Mario here:

I'm in sunny Seattle. It's true. The sky's so bright I should've brought sunglasses.

I'm here for Norwescon, which ended yesterday. Met lots of great authors and fans. Kudos to William Sadorus, the Evil Overlord of the conference, for keeping the chaos running smoothly.

Richelle Mead and Kat Richardson were my chaperones and they did too good of a job as I never got into serious trouble.

The visit started with a signing at the University Bookstore. Here are table mates Richelle and Warren Hammond.

At Norwescon we had the usual fantasy nuttiness and great costumes. Here's one that caught my eye (or rather, both of them).

As the gracious host, Kat took me to her home, this enormous yacht. Here's her crew, husband Jim (with ferrets below deck).

Richelle put me up for the night in her swanky bachelorette pad. It's a writer's home as you can tell by this photo of her desk:

Next time, my report on our road trip to Powell's Books in Beaverton, Oregon.

2008-03-19T03:49:00.000-07:00

Hi all—barely back among the land of the living. Lots went on in the world the last two weeks. Here are a few of the things that caught my interest:

Dollhouse, Joss’ newest project, may be on the air as early as this fall. Check out this website for casting and script info. Brennan Elliott has auditioned for a part. He’s easy on the eyes.

A video, Vampire Heart, for all you fans who are as crazy as I am about the Jossworld. This is fun!

If you’ve been following Buffy Season 8, the next ARC includes a gay romance for the Buffster. Writer Drew Goddard shares his thoughts here.

A first look at something with the intriguing title “Doctor Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog”, Joss’ new musical project, slated to debut “soon” can be found here. His words: “It’s the story of a low-rent super-villain, the hero who keeps beating him up, and the cute girl from the laundromat he’s too shy to talk to. And I’m having the time of my life.” Hmmmm….

The latest Stargate, The Ark of Truth, is available now. There is an interview with Robert Cooper here.

And for we who write, Borders decision to display as many as “three times the titles” face out as in the past is the good news and bad news. The change is supposed to be evident in most stores in about six weeks. The good news is maybe we won’t have to strong-arm friends and family all over the country to turn our own titles out. The bad news is that it’s going to result in an inventory cutback of between 4600-9300 titles per store.

For fans of my pal Charlaine Harris, this bit of casting news: Hunk Alexander Skarsgard has joined the cast of True Blood, the HBO Sookie Stackhouse series, as Eric. Nice.

From the sublime to the…well, you know. Matthew McConaughey supposedly wants to name his unborn kid after his favorite beer—Bud. He’s following in the footsteps of his older brother, Michael, who named his son, I kid you not, Miller Lyte. Insanity really does run in families.

A writing contest you might be interested in. The 77th Annual Writer’s Digest Writing Competition. $30,000 in cash and prizes, including trips to New York to meet with editors and agents. No mention of a devil duck, though. Check out the rules here.

However, in case you are thinking of entering the Memoirs/Personal Essay category of the above mentioned contest, you might first want to check out Christopher Beam’s “The Fake Memoirist’s Survival Guide.” (Margaret B. Jones should have seen this, not to mention all the editors, newspaper people, and reviewers who hailed Love and Consequences as a “remarkable book.”) It offers these helpful hints:
* Specificity is your enemy.
* Write what you know--but no one else does.
* Be a victim.
* Check your paper trail.
* Don't leave witnesses.
* Don't leave clues!
* Don't tell anyone.
* Beware of blurbs.
He goes into wonderful detail at the above link.

Because we need to support our friends, next time you’re looking for a gift with a different twist, check out Vamprowler’s ufotogo.com website. Alien smirk mugs, shirts, bumper stickers…you can find them all here.

Speaking of aliens, Mario did an interview with Tez Miller (brave girl) at Urban Fantasy Land…as usual, be very afraid…

I am guest blogging (or blahgging, as Jaye puts it) tomorrow (Thursday) at Jay Wells Adopt a Vampire Month. There will be prizes. Drop by, say hello, post a comment. Hint: my column is a long song to Joss…

PS From today's Shelf Awareness: Arthur C. Clarke, author of more than 100 books, inventor, futurist and science fiction icon, died yesterday in Colombo, Sri Lanka. He was 90 and best known for his novel 2001: A Space Odyssey and his collaboration with Stanley Kubrick on the film of the same name.

The New York Times has a long obituary.

I am Client 9 1/2

2008-03-16T19:52:00.000-07:00

Mario here:

Has it been a week since the end of Left Coast Crime? Of course it has and man, did the week fly by.

The big news is that THE UNDEAD KAMA SUTRA is out. My other two books were released in massmarket paperback and the crew at the Thorton, CO, Barnes & Noble sent this nifty photo of display bling.

Wednesday I take off for Norwescon in Seattle, WA. Wednesday night I'll be signing at the University Bookstore in Seattle, then days of fun and games at Norweson, and ending Tuesday, Mar 25, at Powell's Books in Beaverton, OR. Interesting hotel arrangements in Portland. Details to follow.

Fellow fantasy writers, Richelle Mead and Mark Henry, will be my chaperones. Weather forecast?...big surprise for Seattle. Rain. And more rain. Followed by rain.

The big question of the week: Is this snatch worth $4100/hr and a political career?

It's another example of how life trumps art. What are the bets that "Kristen" for Client # 9 gets a book contract? And for how much? Meanwhile her lawyer is bellowing at the media for indulging in the prurient aspects of poor Ashley's vocation. Hello? Your client is only famous for her expensive booty call. She's an aspiring actress, which is code for hooker. Much like aspiring screenwriter is code for waiter. How low will this go? Stay tuned.

2008-03-12T06:37:00.001-07:00

I came home from LCC with some nice memories and a not-so-nice cold. Since my brain feels like cotton candy, I'm cheating this time and posting this wonderful recipe that was sent to me from bevhale on another loop.

Bev says:
This is for everyone who is sick - Jeanne I hope this helps. This soup will cure the sick and raise the dead, I promise you.

This ia a recipe from my cookbook, Texistani: Indo-Pak Cooking from a Texas Kitchen. I give this soup to friends and relatives during flu season. I've given it to people going through chemo. I swear, this will cure the sick and raise the dead. The key to this is the red pepper and garlic (it came from China and went through Pakistan adding the pepper and garlic). It's also extremely good when accompanied with oatmeal bread.

Chicken Corn Soup

1 can chicken broth
4-6 chicken thighs (preferably skinned and boned already) yes you can use white meat, but this is more tender and shreds better
1/2 cup vinegar
1 tbl soy sauce or to taste
red pepper (at least 1/4 tsp, more if you can handle it)
black pepper (at least 1/4 tsp.)
Salt (1 tsp or to taste)
garlic (either diced or powdered at least 1/2 tsp, more if you can tolerate)
1 can creamed corn (or 1 can niblet corn and 1 tsp of cornstarch (if desired)
4 eggs

You can adjust on salt, soy, pepper and garlic to taste. I usually check it just before I add the eggs to see if it needs anything.

Combine all ingredients in a large pot (except eggs). If you are using a pressure cooker, no extra liquid will be needed. If you are cooking in a stewpot, add water to cover the chicken and cook (medium to medium high heat) until chicken is tender (you may need to add more water). Pull chicken pieces from the pot and shred, return to pot. Break eggs into a cup or bowl and scramble up before adding. Turn up heat to high and add eggs, stirring quickly for about 30 seconds. Turn heat down to medium-medium low and allow soup to cook for about 5 minutes longer. Serve. Should serve 4+.

Now go make soup and be well.

She's right. A couple more days on this soup and I'll be ready to rejoin the world.

Thank you, Bev.

PS It also goes well with cornbread-- my particular favorite!

Stop me, before I volunteer again

2008-03-10T06:13:00.000-07:00

Mario here:

It's over. Left Coast Crime 2008 is history. What a great time. The weather was almost perfect. The authors and fans were friendly and enthusiastic. The drinks were plentiful and wet. Can't say that the conference went off without a hitch, but once the first problems were ironed out, if you didn't have fun, it was all your fault.

BIG kudos to the queen bee of the conference, our own Chris Goff. I need to mention Suzanne Proulx and Pari Noskin Taichert and of course, the many, many other volunteers who helped make LCC 2008 as memorable as a perp walk (of the bad guys).

The Mile High Murder Machine was as advertised: ghoulish fun as we toured Denver murder sites in a prison bus. Stocked of course with cold margaritas and Brekenridge beer.

I met lots of wonderful authors to include Anthony Bidulka, author of the only world-traveling Ukranian gay private detective living in a small town in Saskatchewan, Laura Benedict, JT Ellison, and Mark Schweizer.

LCC 2009 will be in Hawaii and we awarded a conference registration to the winner of our Aloha costume contest. Among the entries:

To liven things up during the banquet I animated a roll and bread sticks into this creature that rampaged across the table:

Which Jeanne promptly destroyed using her Ana Strong mojo:

2008-03-05T06:28:00.000-08:00

First off—Mario’s new one is on sale NOW—Buy it early and often!!!

Getting ready for Left Coast Crime—a couple of panels and some gatherings of new friends and old. Should be fun.

This week in the news:

Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse TV series is a go. Writers Sarah Fain and Liz Craft are on board. More here.

William F. Buckley, Bon Vivant and sassy man about town, died. Here’s a clip of his famous clash with Gore Vidal over Vietnam.

Career advice from a comic book? Why not? Check out Johnny Bunko and The Last Career Guide You’ll Ever Need.

Sorry for the brevity, folks. I’m working feverishly on the fifth Anna book and surprisingly enough, it’s going well. I think it may have something to do with actually having the damned book plotted out BEFORE I started it. A first for me. Definitely something to consider in future books. If there are future books. It’s also angst time since it’s the last book of my current contract. I leave contract things to my agent, but I am stressing over it. So if you want to help, recommend my books to your friends (and enemies) and tell them to get out and buy as many of them as they can carry… The author appreciates it.

XO Jeanne

Murder in the Mile High City

2008-03-03T06:51:00.000-08:00

Mario here:

We're in the final countdown for Left Coast Crime 2008. The Rocky Mountain News gave us a great plug. Check it out. As usual, for me, everything seems to happen at once. I'm organizing the Mile High Murder Machine tour of Denver murders, in the middle of the book four deadline, sending out promotional material for the launch of The Undead Kama Sutra. And, attending to a little thing called taxes.

Biker chick and all-around major great person Diana Rowe probably has the coooolest job in the world, she's a travel writer. I consider myself an interpid traveler if I make it to the mall. Meanwhile, Diana is waiting for a golf resort to be built on Mars. Check out her blog, Traveling in Heels. Beware, you cube rats will want to slit your wrists in jealousy.

I'm reading the weather forecasts hourly as I want you LCCers to have a perfect conference experience. So far, the weather wizards are predicting fair conditions except for snow/rain on Wednesday. Dress warm in case.

I've got good news to share. For those of you who don't know, besides writing, I also paint. I recently had a show and sold this peice, The Candle Light Tavern.

Cheers!