IMM – Feb
In My Mailbox is hosted by the ever lovely and talented Story Siren. Anyone can play along just show us what came in your mailbox this week.
I know its been a while since I have participated. Mainly because I have been filing my books as soon as they come in instead of procrastinating :) This week I had the flu so I didn’t file them, ergo an IMM was born.
From MTV Books (they rock)
Fashion Cats
Starting Over
Bittersweet Blessing: 16 and Pregnant
True Norwegian Black Metal (which is numbered to 666 I have 546)
From Bailey at IBBookBlogging
From Algonquin who gave me the thing I squeed out loud over this week
Heading Out to Wonderful (A FREAKING NEW BOOK FROM ROBERT GOOLRICK *FANGIRLS*)
All Woman and Springtime
Until the Next Time
West of Here (paperback release- great book)
San Francisco Book Review
Storybound
Dearly, Departed
The Invisible Tower
Holly Cupala
Dearly, Departed
The Invisible Tower
Holly Cupala
Don’t Breathe a Word (+ swag for you guys!)
Mac Audio
Simon Pulse
Where it Began (which is possibly a double- if so contest)
Harper Teen
Finished copies of:
The Miseducation of Cameron Post
Bewitching
Cloaked
Two Truths and a Lie
Arc of:
Dreamless
Guest Post: Honey, Tom Cruise Was Such a Jerk in That Movie! by Elisabeth Staab
In the two years since I started to write King of Darkness, I’ve gotten a lot of questions about “Why vampires?” Hell, if I had a dollar for every time someone asked me why I liked to write vampire romance, I’d be able to pay off my credit card debt and generously tip the chauffer that drives my middle child to and from preschool. And it’s no wonder. Look at the massive popularity of the Twilight series! Paranormal has practically become the new normal.
For a species that was once very niche in fandom, it’s left some folks scratching their heads.
My own husband asks me more than anyone. “Honey, I’ve seen that Tom Cruise movie. He’s all dressed up and stuff, but he’s still a monster. How can you make a vampire romantic?” And yet, Anne Rice seemed to open a gateway, there. Vampires in romance have become practically a dietary staple. I started to write my own series because I was one of those readers who needed their daily paranormal fix almost as desperately as they needed their morning cup of coffee (in either case, if I missed out I started biting hands)—and I started running out of things to read. I also started running out of money to buy e-books with.
So how have we evolved, as a culture, from humans who liked their vampires undead in horror movies to one who likes them hard-bodied, hot-blooded and naked? Is it the fangs? The Alpha male-ness? The immortality? The muscles? Okay, I think it’s safe to say we all like the muscles But really, the reasons are probably as many and varied as the people who read paranormal romance these days.
Remember Beauty and the Beast? Classic example of a monster who’s really a good guy. Who wants to be more. Who’s romantic! It isn’t a far stretch to apply that to vampires and other things that go bump in the night. Except when we’re all grown up, it’s nice to add some fangs, right? Those things are hot. And the blood drinking makes it a little forbidden and forbidden is smexy.
The great thing about vampires, is there’s something for everyone these days. Whether you like them big or small, dead or undead, Alpha or omega. Do you like your vampires to be good? Evil? A little of both? Do they drink blood? Eat food? Live in the past, present, or future (or all of the above)? Have superpowers? Pass as human? Do they drink blood from humans, or each other? Whatever your poison, we’ve got you covered.
Me, I dig the idea of vampires being a separate species that lives alongside humans. Right under everyone else’s noses. Partly because when my characters have sex I like for it to be lively. Mostly, because I enjoy the urban fantasy element that it adds. The idea that supernatural species are running around the suburbs outside of Washington DC, interacting with folks at the gas station and blending in undetected, gives me a thrill. I like giving them the ability to mate and reproduce, and have little fanged babies (aww!). And yes, I like the fangs and the muscles.
So. Your turn: What is it that you love about vampires? If not vampires, what’s your favorite paranormal species, and why?
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About King of Darkness:
ETERNAL COMMITMENT IS NOT ON HER AGENDA…
Scorned by the vampire community for her lack of power, Isabel Anthony lives a carefree existence masquerading as human–although, drifting among the debauched human nightlife, she prefers the patrons’ blood to other indulgences. But when she meets the king of vampires this party girl’s life turns dark and dangerous.
BUT TIME’S RUNNING OUT FOR THE KING OF VAMPIRES…
Dead-set on finding the prophesied mate who will unlock his fiery powers, Thad Morgan must find his queen before their race is destroyed. Their enemies are gaining ground, and Thad needs his powers to unite his subjects. But when his search leads him to the defiant Isabel, he wonders if fate has gotten it seriously wrong…
King of Darkness is available NOW in ebook and in paperback on 2/7 : Amazon : Barnes and Noble : IndieBound
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Elisabeth Staab lives in Northern Virginia with her hero and soul mate. She has been a telemarketer, a web page editor, a software developer, a reader for the blind, a technical trainer, a coffee shop barista, a tutor, a homemaker, a government project manager, a graphic designer, and a professional ebayer. Finally, she’s landed on being a writer – which is what her high school guidance counselor originally suggested anyway.
Elisabeth believes that all kinds of safe, sane, and consensual love should be celebrated–but she loves the fantasy-filled realm of paranormal romance the best. Find out more at ElisabethStaab.com.
Edenbrooke by Julianne Donaldson Blog Tour! (YA and Romance bloggers)
About the book:
Marianne Daventry will do anything to escape the boredom of Bath and the amorous attentions of an unwanted suitor. So when an invitation arrives from her twin sister, Cecily, to join her at a sprawling country estate, she jumps at the chance. Thinking she’ll be able to relax and enjoy her beloved English countryside while her sister snags the handsome heir of Edenbrooke, Marianne finds that even the best laid plans can go awry.
From a terrifying run-in with a highwayman to a seemingly harmless flirtation, Marianne finds herself embroiled in an unexpected adventure filled with enough romance and intrigue to keep her mind racing. Will she be able to rein in her traitorous heart, or will a mysterious stranger sweep her off her feet? Fate had something other than a relaxing summer in mind when it sent Marianne to Edenbrooke.
Disclaimers and my thoughts
Julianne’s agent gave me this to read a while back. Julianne’s agent is also my agent and it is also the agency I work for now. That out of the way let me squee like a giant fangirl because I am a huge fangirl of this book. It was like Downton Abbey, Georgette Heyer, and Jane Austen all had a baby and that baby is a literary gift to the romance world. As a mostly YA reader I think that Edenbrooke is a great genre crosser, and in a haze of paranormal and science fiction reading that I love it was a welcome edition to break off for a bit and have an interlude with the handsome Phillip who has all the great qualities of Darcy and none of the bad ones.
Join the Tour
I have 10 YA spots open on the tour and 10 romance blog spots open, I also have five spots for those who don’t want to be nailed down for a date but I hope not to use those as scheduling this will be chaotic as its my first tour. Fill out the form below and I will get the info to Shadow Mountain and contact you when your book is shipping.
Apocalypse Imminent: Jodi Meadows
According to the Mayan calendar one of two things are going to happen this year. Either the world will end fiery, or a new brave age will begin. As I have always been one that leans towards the dramatics, I am putting my money on a fiery death. I think we should have fun until we all burn like the fires of Pompeii. Intro Apocalypse Imminent: A 12 month celebration with today’s hottest dystopia/post apocalyptic authors. These transmedia interviews/stories will appear here on the website the first day of every month. I hope you enjoy them.
February – Jodi Meadows
Jodi Meadows lives and writes in the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia, with her husband, a Kippy*, and an alarming number of ferrets. She is a confessed book addict, and has wanted to be a writer ever since she decided against becoming an astronaut.
Purchase at Hicklebee’s and find Jodi online on her website or Twitter
Apocalyptic Fun
Pam:What is unique about your world?
Jodi:In Rage, everyone is reincarnated.
Pam:Who are your main characters and their traits?
Jodi:Ana is the newsoul — or nosoul, depending on who you ask. She’s brave, impulsive, and defensive.
Sam is an oldsoul. He’s patient, wise, and a little cagey with information sometimes.
Pam:How does your character fit in or stick out in their environment?
Jodi:Ana is new in a world where no one is new, so everyone watches what she does. No one trusts her. While they know one another well enough, they can’t predict anything about Ana. This makes her a little scary to them!
Pam:Are there special resources that are rare?
Jodi:Coffee is rare, but they’ve made changes to ensure there is always enough coffee around. It’s a world of caffeine addicts.
Sadly, chocolate is super rare in Range.
Pam:What is the most unique thing about your world?
Jodi:Probably the reincarnation.
Pam:Are there others left in the world or just who are known in Heart?
Jodi:Won’t that be interesting to find out? :)
Pam:If you lived in your world what things would you use your lifetimes accomplishing?
Jodi:I’d probably have to get better at music so I could hang out with Sam. Because they don’t really think about the idea of other people, they don’t have much of a concept of fiction. Thus rendering my job useless.
Or super important!
Pam:Is there anything else we need to know about the citizens of Heart or any info you can give us that isn’t in the book?
Jodi:Oh there’s lots of information that isn’t in the book . . . but you’ll have to wait until book 2 to get it! ;)
I would die without chocolate, what about you guys? One comment chosen at random wins Incarnate!
Librarian Love
I could write a whole post about what went wrong with ALA. I could tell you about the girl who took as much as her Goodreads said she reads in a year, or the post where the blogger admitted to shoving, or even the girl who said I asked people to bring me stuff back from the conference. If I had wanted something from ALA I would have gone, and if I asked anybody it would be my mate Nancy from my area where I was. Lord knows I am swamped as it is and my review policy has been off since November 2011. I was very vocal in my disproval of what happened at ALA but I won’t apologize for ruffling feathers. Without discussion nothing changes. Chasing Ray has about the best post out there on this subject, I suggest you read that.
Instead I want to tell you about how my life long love affair with books began. I was six, and my teacher was forcing me to learn to read. I gave zero fucks about reading and my teacher had an annoying nasally voice, also she spit food when she ate. It was all very gross. Then my grandma died and I gave zero fucks about anything, it was my first brush with death and I was more than overwhelmed with my little feelings. Later that same week we had our first ever class trip to the library. The Librarian (R.I.P. Miss White) noticed me- a little pale child sitting in the bean bag by the bug books crying and came to talk to me. She asked me what was wrong, and I told her she was just so nice. She read me The Wild Swans and that was the first moment I ever connected with a story. That girl’s pain reflected my own. At the end of the hour, she told me she would be my pretend grandma and for many more years she was.
From first through sixth grade she fed me knowledge, she gave me a love for books that has lasted my entire lifetime. Without her I am certain that I would have never cared for reading at all.
So basically hats off to my Librarians of the world for dealing with pale snot-faced little brats like myself and showing them that reading can be awesome. Let us all try to remember how hard and long and for little pay their jobs are the next time we go to one of their conferences.
