Welcome to Biting-Edge, a blog shared by authors and vampire experts, Mario Acevedo and Jeanne Stein. We’ll cover urban fantasy, vampires, pop culture, and all things Joss Whedon. Unlike other fantasy blogs, we don’t insist on body cavity searches (unless you ask politely). Snarkiness is most welcome...though we won't promise not to bite back!
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Books, books, and more books
This has been an interesting week. Cover went up for Blood Bond:
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For the first book my new series, The Fallen Siren Series, Cursed:
(In case you're wondering, S.J.Harper is the pseudonym co-author Samantha Sommersby and I are publishing under)
And I received copies of a new German edition of the first three books in the Anna Strong Chronicles:
Hardcovers-- very nice!!
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Now for book news that's NOT about me... From Shelf Awareness and the Independent:
William Boyd's new authorized James
Bond novel, publishing this fall, will be titled SOLO. The author
said at the London Book Fair it features Bond on a "self-appointed
mission of his own, unannounced and without any authorization," traveling
three continents, "with the main focus honing in on Africa." Boyd
said, "It's what happens to Bond in Africa that generates his urge to 'go
solo' and take matters into his own hands in the USA." In further Bond
trivia, a 60th anniversary release of an early version of Ian Fleming's Casino
Royale shows that the spy was originally named "Secretan… James Secretan."
"Secretan...James Secretan." Just doesn't have the same ring, does it?
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This is for Tamra Monahan...I know she can identify!
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Something new in the local scene:
— “A book shop for
wine lovers. A wine bar for book shoppers”— is set to open its doors
this month in the arts district of Denver, Colorado, at 4280 Tennyson
Street. The store will feature a menu of wine, beer, tea, coffee, hors
d’oeuvres, and desserts to be served alongside an inventory of thousands
of handpicked titles.
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All this late spring snow has murdered my tulips. They looked like this after the last storm:
That was bad enough...but now they look like this:
And they were so beautiful!!
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One final word. The three musketeers: Mario, Warren Hammond and I will be appearing at Horrorfest this weekend. Check the schedule here .
Labels: Blood Bond, Cursed, Horrorfest, James Bond, Jeanne C. Stein, S. J. Harper, Samantha Sommersby
¶ posted by Jeanne Stein @ 4:16 AM 3 comments
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
The Game Begins
Trailer for HBO’s adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones leads this week's movie and book news.
HAPPY 30th Birthday Buffy!!!
Trailer for HBO’s adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones leads this week's movie and book news.
# # # #
Then onto a couple of articles about one of my favorite literary and movie characters: James Bond.
First, from the Huffington Post :
KINGSTON, Jamaica — A new international airport for private jets and small commercial aircraft was unveiled in northern Jamaica on Wednesday, named after the British thriller writer who invented the literary and cinematic super spy James Bond.
Ian Fleming International Airport is close to the scenic retreat where the late author reportedly wrote all 14 of his books about the elegant, crafty spy. The property is now an exclusive resort owned by Island Records founder Chris Blackwell, who is credited with introducing reggae great Bob Marley's music to the world.
Followed by this from the BBC :
The new James Bond book, written by thriller author Jeffery Deaver, will be called Carte Blanche.
The title and cover were unveiled in Dubai where parts of the book are set.
US writer Deaver said the novel - to be published in the UK on 26 May - posed "the looming question of what is acceptable" in security matters.
Sebastian Faulks and John Gardner are among other authors to have written officially-sanctioned Bond novels since creator Ian Fleming's death in 1964.
Deaver, 60, whose best-seller The Bone Collector was made into a 1999 film starring Denzel Washington, said giving an agent carte blanche on a mission "comes with an enormous amount of trust and constantly tests both personal and professional judgement".
First, from the Huffington Post :
KINGSTON, Jamaica — A new international airport for private jets and small commercial aircraft was unveiled in northern Jamaica on Wednesday, named after the British thriller writer who invented the literary and cinematic super spy James Bond.
Ian Fleming International Airport is close to the scenic retreat where the late author reportedly wrote all 14 of his books about the elegant, crafty spy. The property is now an exclusive resort owned by Island Records founder Chris Blackwell, who is credited with introducing reggae great Bob Marley's music to the world.
Followed by this from the BBC :
The new James Bond book, written by thriller author Jeffery Deaver, will be called Carte Blanche.
The title and cover were unveiled in Dubai where parts of the book are set.
US writer Deaver said the novel - to be published in the UK on 26 May - posed "the looming question of what is acceptable" in security matters.
Sebastian Faulks and John Gardner are among other authors to have written officially-sanctioned Bond novels since creator Ian Fleming's death in 1964.
Deaver, 60, whose best-seller The Bone Collector was made into a 1999 film starring Denzel Washington, said giving an agent carte blanche on a mission "comes with an enormous amount of trust and constantly tests both personal and professional judgement".
# # # #
Anyone who knows me, knows I'm also a tremendous Sherlock Holmes fan. I found this on the ebookseller site:
Orion is to publish a new full-length Sherlock Holmes novel, written by Alex Rider author Anthony Horowitz, after he was selected by the Conan Doyle Estate...
Further details about the title, to be published in September, are still to be revealed, though it will be "a brilliant mystery novel, stripped back to the original style of Conan Doyle", according to the publisher.
Brilliant, huh? We'll be the judge of that!
Orion is to publish a new full-length Sherlock Holmes novel, written by Alex Rider author Anthony Horowitz, after he was selected by the Conan Doyle Estate...
Further details about the title, to be published in September, are still to be revealed, though it will be "a brilliant mystery novel, stripped back to the original style of Conan Doyle", according to the publisher.
Brilliant, huh? We'll be the judge of that!
# # # #
Let's see, what's next?
Now THIS is an interesting twist. From ereads :
HarperCollins authors – have you read your Ten Commandments lately? How about the Seven Deadly Sins? You’d better bone up on them. It seems there’s a morals clause in your publisher’s contract. Not moral rights, mind you… We mean morals. Your morals.
New language in the termination provision of the Harper’s boilerplate gives them the right to cancel a contract if “Author’s conduct evidences a lack of due regard for public conventions and morals, or if Author commits a crime or any other act that will tend to bring Author into serious contempt, and such behavior would materially damage the Work’s reputation or sales.” The consequences? Harper can terminate your book deal.
Not only that, you’ll have to repay your advance. Harper may also avail itself of “other legal remedies” against you.
If this is true, Mario, you'd better be on your best behavior!! Especially since you keep finding little gems like this to send me... I could rat on you.
Besides, why he sends things like this to me, I have no idea.... I am the most even-tempered, tolerant person I know. You all agree, right? RIGHT?????
Now THIS is an interesting twist. From ereads :
HarperCollins authors – have you read your Ten Commandments lately? How about the Seven Deadly Sins? You’d better bone up on them. It seems there’s a morals clause in your publisher’s contract. Not moral rights, mind you… We mean morals. Your morals.
New language in the termination provision of the Harper’s boilerplate gives them the right to cancel a contract if “Author’s conduct evidences a lack of due regard for public conventions and morals, or if Author commits a crime or any other act that will tend to bring Author into serious contempt, and such behavior would materially damage the Work’s reputation or sales.” The consequences? Harper can terminate your book deal.
Not only that, you’ll have to repay your advance. Harper may also avail itself of “other legal remedies” against you.
If this is true, Mario, you'd better be on your best behavior!! Especially since you keep finding little gems like this to send me... I could rat on you.
Besides, why he sends things like this to me, I have no idea.... I am the most even-tempered, tolerant person I know. You all agree, right? RIGHT?????
# # # #
Lot's of statistics floating around this week. Sisters in Crime commissioned a study on the public's mystery/crime fiction book buying habits. Highlights here from Shelf Awareness:
Bricks-and-mortar stores still lead the way in mystery/crime fiction sales, and women over 45 constitute the majority of buyers in the genre, according to a collaborative study, "The Mystery Book Consumer in the Digital Age," released this week by Sisters in Crime. The survey was designed to offer an overview of the mystery/crime fiction book-buying landscape, using research based on publishing industry data gathered and interpreted by Bowker's PubTrack division.
The study found that the majority of mystery/crime fiction buyers are women (68%) over the age of 45 (66% ). Buyers in the 18-to-44 demographic purchase 31% of the mysteries sold. Some 48% live in the suburbs, 27% in rural areas and 25% in urban areas. The South accounts for 35% of sales, followed by the West (26%), Midwest (20%) and Northeast (19%). Bricks-and-mortar stores sell 39% of all mysteries, with library borrowing accounting for approximately 20% and online purchases 17%.
The full report can be found here
USA TODAY listed it's 100 top sellers for 2010 here . No real surprises.
And Nora Roberts is the latest author to enter the Kindle Million Club, joining Stieg Larsson and James Patterson as the third writer to surpass a million paid copies in Amazon's Kindle Store.
Twilight fans, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers will host a special International Fan Event to coincide with the April release of The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide. Little, Brown will select one fan from the U.S. and one from Canada, and is partnering with the Twilight Saga publishers in Brazil, China, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Taiwan and the U.K. to find each country's lucky Twilight fan. The 10 winners will receive an advance copy of The Official Illustrated Guide and have the opportunity to talk extensively with Meyer. The official rules for the sweepstakes to select a fan from the U.S. as well as one from Canada) can be found here .
Bricks-and-mortar stores still lead the way in mystery/crime fiction sales, and women over 45 constitute the majority of buyers in the genre, according to a collaborative study, "The Mystery Book Consumer in the Digital Age," released this week by Sisters in Crime. The survey was designed to offer an overview of the mystery/crime fiction book-buying landscape, using research based on publishing industry data gathered and interpreted by Bowker's PubTrack division.
The study found that the majority of mystery/crime fiction buyers are women (68%) over the age of 45 (66% ). Buyers in the 18-to-44 demographic purchase 31% of the mysteries sold. Some 48% live in the suburbs, 27% in rural areas and 25% in urban areas. The South accounts for 35% of sales, followed by the West (26%), Midwest (20%) and Northeast (19%). Bricks-and-mortar stores sell 39% of all mysteries, with library borrowing accounting for approximately 20% and online purchases 17%.
The full report can be found here
USA TODAY listed it's 100 top sellers for 2010 here . No real surprises.
And Nora Roberts is the latest author to enter the Kindle Million Club, joining Stieg Larsson and James Patterson as the third writer to surpass a million paid copies in Amazon's Kindle Store.
Twilight fans, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers will host a special International Fan Event to coincide with the April release of The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide. Little, Brown will select one fan from the U.S. and one from Canada, and is partnering with the Twilight Saga publishers in Brazil, China, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Taiwan and the U.K. to find each country's lucky Twilight fan. The 10 winners will receive an advance copy of The Official Illustrated Guide and have the opportunity to talk extensively with Meyer. The official rules for the sweepstakes to select a fan from the U.S. as well as one from Canada) can be found here .
# # # #
Found this via Publisher's Lunch:
Lynn Hirschberg offers an "exclusive first look" of the making of David Fincher's version of THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO for W Magazine . According to the piece, Steven Zaillian's script departs considerably from the book: "Blomkvist is less promiscuous, Salander is more aggressive, and, most notably, the ending--the resolution of the drama--has been completely changed. This may be sacrilege to some, but [scriptwriter] Zaillian has improved on Larsson--the script's ending is more interesting."
Mara has the right look, that's for sure, but I get a little nervous when they start talking about a more "interesting" ending. Salander is MORE aggressive? How much more aggressive could they make her? I'm not at all sure about this one.
I guess that's it for this week. I must admit, though, I'm very disappointed we haven't had any bad sex entries yet. You can't tell me every sex scene you've ever read has been wonderful. Remember, I'm not talking about your personal sex life. I know the old saying, the worst sex I've ever had was... wonderful....but surely, you've read a sex scene in a book and came away shaking your head at the absurdity. If you can't remember the book to look up the exact phrasing, paraphrase. We'll accept it. We're easy.
Lynn Hirschberg offers an "exclusive first look" of the making of David Fincher's version of THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO for W Magazine . According to the piece, Steven Zaillian's script departs considerably from the book: "Blomkvist is less promiscuous, Salander is more aggressive, and, most notably, the ending--the resolution of the drama--has been completely changed. This may be sacrilege to some, but [scriptwriter] Zaillian has improved on Larsson--the script's ending is more interesting."
Mara has the right look, that's for sure, but I get a little nervous when they start talking about a more "interesting" ending. Salander is MORE aggressive? How much more aggressive could they make her? I'm not at all sure about this one.
I guess that's it for this week. I must admit, though, I'm very disappointed we haven't had any bad sex entries yet. You can't tell me every sex scene you've ever read has been wonderful. Remember, I'm not talking about your personal sex life. I know the old saying, the worst sex I've ever had was... wonderful....but surely, you've read a sex scene in a book and came away shaking your head at the absurdity. If you can't remember the book to look up the exact phrasing, paraphrase. We'll accept it. We're easy.
Labels: Anthony Horowitz, Carte Blanche, Game of Thrones, George RR Martin, Ian Fleming, James Bond, Jeffrey Deaver, Rooney Mara, Sherlock Holmes, Sisters in Crime, Twilight
¶ posted by Jeanne Stein @ 5:20 AM 1 comments
Wednesday, November 03, 2010
News and Views...
Now that Mario and I are Master Bloggers, how I love that, I was relieved to find a few articles of interest for this week's Master Blog. But first, a couple of personal items.
Chosen was nominated by RT Book Reviews Magazine as Best Urban Fantasy Novel for 2010. Competition is keen: MAGIC BLEEDS by Ilona Andrews; TOTAL ECLIPSE by Rachel Caine; DOUBLE CROSS by Carolyn Crane; MOB RULES by Cameron Haley; DUST by JoanFrances Turner.
Win, lose or draw, I'm honored.
Second, HEXED, four novellas by Ilona Andrews, Yasmine Gaenorn, Allyson James and moi, is available now for preorder here :
Here's the back cover blurb about my story:
From national bestselling author Jeanne C. Stein comes "Blood Debt," where bounty-hunter-turned vampire Anna Strong is visited by three witches who ask her to right an old magical wrong. Anna will have to live up to her name to make it through alive...
From Shelf Awareness:
Powell’s Books, Portland, Ore., has purchased 7,000 books from Anne Rice's personal library and set up a dedicated page on its website to sell them, the Oregonian reported.
Powell's From the Library of Anne Rice section notes that the collection includes "editions signed or annotated by Ms. Rice, and many have her library markings on the spines. The collection showcases her love of literature and writing and reveals a true intellectual curiosity--classic philosophy, the Brontes, biblical archaeology, and Louisiana history are just a few of the subject areas represented."
From Shelf Awareness:
New Zealand officials agreed to a deal "under which they will contribute special financing and introduce labor legislation" to discourage Warner Brothers and Peter Jackson from taking the production of the two movies adapted from J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit out of the country.
The New York Times reported that the agreement came "after a week in which thousands of New Zealand film workers had taken to the streets in a push to save The Hobbit--and much of New Zealand's film industry with it--while others questioned whether its politicians had gone too far in kowtowing to Hollywood."
Meet Deaver: Jeffery Deaver, author of the next Bond novel
From USA Today :
And a special congratulations to Julie Kazimer, one of our Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers buddies, on her first book sale:
J.A. Kazimer's F***ED UP FAIRYTALE, pitched as "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" meets "Shrek" when Cinderella is run over by a bus and a private investigator (on mental health leave from the Villains Union) is hired by her not-so-ugly stepsister to solve what she believes is a murder and break her own curse before New Never City is riddled with dead bodies, to Peter Senftleben at Kensington, in a nice deal, in a two-book deal, by Sharon Belcastro at Belcastro Agency (World).
Always a nice thing to celebrate!!
Chosen was nominated by RT Book Reviews Magazine as Best Urban Fantasy Novel for 2010. Competition is keen: MAGIC BLEEDS by Ilona Andrews; TOTAL ECLIPSE by Rachel Caine; DOUBLE CROSS by Carolyn Crane; MOB RULES by Cameron Haley; DUST by JoanFrances Turner.
Win, lose or draw, I'm honored.
Second, HEXED, four novellas by Ilona Andrews, Yasmine Gaenorn, Allyson James and moi, is available now for preorder here :
Here's the back cover blurb about my story:
From national bestselling author Jeanne C. Stein comes "Blood Debt," where bounty-hunter-turned vampire Anna Strong is visited by three witches who ask her to right an old magical wrong. Anna will have to live up to her name to make it through alive...
# # # #
From Shelf Awareness:
Powell’s Books, Portland, Ore., has purchased 7,000 books from Anne Rice's personal library and set up a dedicated page on its website to sell them, the Oregonian reported.
Powell's From the Library of Anne Rice section notes that the collection includes "editions signed or annotated by Ms. Rice, and many have her library markings on the spines. The collection showcases her love of literature and writing and reveals a true intellectual curiosity--classic philosophy, the Brontes, biblical archaeology, and Louisiana history are just a few of the subject areas represented."
# # # #
From Shelf Awareness:
New Zealand officials agreed to a deal "under which they will contribute special financing and introduce labor legislation" to discourage Warner Brothers and Peter Jackson from taking the production of the two movies adapted from J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit out of the country.
The New York Times reported that the agreement came "after a week in which thousands of New Zealand film workers had taken to the streets in a push to save The Hobbit--and much of New Zealand's film industry with it--while others questioned whether its politicians had gone too far in kowtowing to Hollywood."
# # # #
Meet Deaver: Jeffery Deaver, author of the next Bond novel
From USA Today :
Best known for his thrillers starring quadriplegic criminalist Lincoln Rhyme, Deaver has a new mission: Bring Bond into the 21st century in a new 007 novel.
The yet-to-be-named book is cryptically referred to as "Project X" by Ian Fleming Publications Ltd., which owns the rights to Fleming's work…
"The novel," he says, "is set in the present day, in 2011. Bond is a young agent for the British secret service. He's 29 or 30 years old, and he's an Afghan war vet."
That in itself is big news. After all, if Bond were aging in real time — he first appeared in Fleming's Casino Royale n 1953 — the now doddering (although assuredly still handsome) 007 would be nearly 90.
A very cool idea:
Ever wonder what it would be like to hang out with Frankenstein? U Star Novels offers "a range of romantic novels that are fully personalized to include up to 30 of your personal details, making you and your partner the stars of your very own novel....
With U Star Personalized Classics, the plot remains the same, the only thing that changes is that it could be you following the yellow brick road, or your brother hunting vampires in the darkest depths of Transylvania, or your best friend starring in one of the best-loved romances of all time alongside her own Mr. Darcy!" ---
A novel Christmas present perhaps....
The yet-to-be-named book is cryptically referred to as "Project X" by Ian Fleming Publications Ltd., which owns the rights to Fleming's work…
"The novel," he says, "is set in the present day, in 2011. Bond is a young agent for the British secret service. He's 29 or 30 years old, and he's an Afghan war vet."
That in itself is big news. After all, if Bond were aging in real time — he first appeared in Fleming's Casino Royale n 1953 — the now doddering (although assuredly still handsome) 007 would be nearly 90.
# # # #
A very cool idea:Ever wonder what it would be like to hang out with Frankenstein? U Star Novels offers "a range of romantic novels that are fully personalized to include up to 30 of your personal details, making you and your partner the stars of your very own novel....
With U Star Personalized Classics, the plot remains the same, the only thing that changes is that it could be you following the yellow brick road, or your brother hunting vampires in the darkest depths of Transylvania, or your best friend starring in one of the best-loved romances of all time alongside her own Mr. Darcy!" ---
A novel Christmas present perhaps....
# # # #
J.A. Kazimer's F***ED UP FAIRYTALE, pitched as "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" meets "Shrek" when Cinderella is run over by a bus and a private investigator (on mental health leave from the Villains Union) is hired by her not-so-ugly stepsister to solve what she believes is a murder and break her own curse before New Never City is riddled with dead bodies, to Peter Senftleben at Kensington, in a nice deal, in a two-book deal, by Sharon Belcastro at Belcastro Agency (World).
Always a nice thing to celebrate!!
# # # #
Fox is out with a new trailer for its big Christmas film, the Jack Black-starrer Gulliver's Travels which gets released December 22:
Huffington Post readers chose "7 Movies That Are Better Than the Book."
See if you agree and feel free to add your own.
# # # #
So, who's doing NaNoWriMo? I've logged in 7500 words--but I know I can't keep up this pace. Just trying to get ahead of the game...
From Deadline.com
Fox is out with a new trailer for its big Christmas film, the Jack Black-starrer Gulliver's Travels which gets released December 22:
# # # #
Huffington Post readers chose "7 Movies That Are Better Than the Book."
See if you agree and feel free to add your own.
# # # #
Hollywood studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc., the home of James Bond, filed for bankruptcy protection on Wednesday in a plan that had the backing of its lenders and put funding of its half of "The Hobbit" back on track.
Yikes.In the sure sign of the impending Apocalypse file:
'Hobbit' Money Sought as MGM Files for Bankruptcy ....
Hollywood studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc., the home of James Bond, filed for bankruptcy protection on Wednesday in a plan that had the backing of its lenders and put funding of its half of "The Hobbit" back on track.
# # # #
So, who's doing NaNoWriMo? I've logged in 7500 words--but I know I can't keep up this pace. Just trying to get ahead of the game...
Labels: Anne Rice, Gulliver's Travels, Hexed, J. A. Kazimer, James Bond, Jeffrey Deaver, Peter Jackson, U Star Novels
¶ posted by Jeanne Stein @ 2:58 PM 6 comments
