It's my pleasure to welcome Terry W Ervin II, author of FLANK HAWK, a post apocalyptic fantasy novel with a difference. And zombies. And dragons. And Nazis. And... well, it's got everything, really.

Terry was kind enough to provide me with an advance copy of his book for review. I really enjoyed it. Here's what I said about it (my first blurb! yay!):



Terry's running a contest at his website where you can win the chance to name a character in his next book. Check it out! And here's a link to Terry's blog.

EH: Tell us a little about Flank Hawk (without giving too much away, of course!)

TWE: Flank Hawk is a post apocalyptic fantasy novel. It’s about a farmhand (Krish) that signs on to fight in his lord’s militia to fend against the Necromancer King’s annual attacks to disrupt crop planting. It turns out to be much more and Krish is swept into events he’d never dreamed of.

I know this may be an easy out, but the teaser on the back of the novel’s cover hits all of the high points:


In the end, it’s a novel about friendship and loyalty, and sacrifice.

( You can read the rest of the interview here. )

FInally, after three months and twenty-seven days (count 'em) SHADOWSONG is finished!!

For the moment. Until my agent says 'ew!' or I get editor's revisions or someone makes me change my mind about the whole snakylicious thing.

I love this manuscript so much more than I thought I would, a month and a half ago when I was writing act two and hating it. The solution was simple, in the end -- one of the villains just wasn't dangerous enough to warrant the kind of contortions the MCs were going through.

So I fixed it, and now it's kinda awesome :) if I may say so myself. When all else fails, make your villain more psychotic. Or add zombies. But we'll save that for another book.

What's it about, you say? Oh, well, since you ask. It's about a banshee gangster hunting for revenge on her mother's killer. Add a ravenous newly-infected vampire, a rusty mad metalfairy and a snake-shifting hero. Oh, my. This guy is one of my favourites.

I don't have a release date yet, but I'm anticipating Fall 2010.

RIght. {dusts hands} that's that done. Now for book #4, as yet untitled, unplotted and pretty much entirely un-thought-about :)

Just a reminder that my big shiny interview/chat/prize giveaway party is on today and tomorrow at the fabulous Bitten By Books!

Drop by, say hi or ask me the tough questions for a chance to win some shiny iPod goodness. It's open until midnight Thursday 22 Oct, Pacific time in the US.

Yay! Three months and countless interruptions later, SHADOWSONG finally reaches THE END. I wrote 9,000 words in two days to finish it, which is a lot for me.

I've still got a few weeks before I need to give it in to my editor, so revisions are very much on the cards. But nothing serious. This story is on its way to being awesome, if I may say so myself. Most definitely on the Awesome Train. I love revenge stories. I love banshees. And I love the hero, who's just far too snaky for his own good :)

In the meantime, some party goodness. I'm doing (yes, another!) book giveaway at The Romantic Journey this week. Come along and pick your best urban fantasy/PR first lines.

There's an interview with me at author Christina Phillips' blog, where I harp on about call stories and light bulb moments and suchlike.

And, I'm at Bitten By Books on Wednesday 21 October, chatting about succubi and demons and other urban fantasy goodness:And to bribe you all into turning up -- and because that's just the kind of generous soul I am -- I'm giving away a nice shiny prize. And it isn't a book. Though you might be able to read books on it. Get along and RSVP to find out what it is, and to get loads more entries to the contest.

And now, I get the day off :)

 Well, it had to happen.

Today, my debut novel SHADOWFAE hits the shelves (crash!). I'm weird. I'm giggly. I'm kinda stoked.

And, I'm doing giveaways, of course. Drop a comment on my guest posts, maybe win a book. You know the drill. Here's a few quick links to this week's free book mayhem:

At Literary Escapism, I'm blogging about paranormal powers and why they're so cool.

At VampChix, it's evil vampires and why they're so cool.

SciFiGuy has a thoughtful review (thanks, Doug!) and my post on why I think my urban fantasy world is so cool.

And here's an interview with me by Angela at Dark Faerie Tales.

More to come later in the week.

I have had such a nice day :)

EDIT: Oh, I forgot Writers Gone Wild. Paranormal heroes, and why they're so cool. Or hot.

That's five free books, folks. Someone out there's gotta get lucky :)

It's come to my attention that some of you have just got it all wrong.

You know what I'm talking about, okay? Don't pretend you're innocent.

Apparently (can you believe it??) there are some Dean fans out there.

I mean, really? To all you poor deluded souls, I merely say this:
You wanna make something of it? Fine. Come on over to The Romantic Journey, where I'm blogging about the important stuff :) and we can duke it out.

Oh, and I'm also at Literary Escapism, where until October 13 they're giving away a copy of SHADOWFAE. Pop on over and tell me which paranormal power you'd take on for a day.

Sigh. I shake my head. Dean. Some people.

 To alert you to free books, of course.

My buddy, New Zealand author Michelle Holman, has a fab interview up at Romantic Journey, and she's giving away copy of her romantic comedy KNOTTED (1 October, HarperCollins NZ) to one lucky visitor.

So pop on over and check it out!

Also, this month Aussie writer Eleni Konstantine is giving away Tracey O'Hara's debut urban fantasy NIGHT'S COLD KISS and Valerie Parv's excellent romance writing book HEART AND CRAFT. Check out Eleni-fest for details.

Don't say I don't love you :)

 With only a week or two before my first book hits the shelves (BAM!) I'm working myself up a little blog tour to celebrate. As you do.

For instance, tomorrow (October 1) I'll be at Magical Musings, talking about conflict and surprising your characters and writerly stuff like that.

On October 6, I'm at Literary Escapism, chatting about cool paranormal powers and giving away a free book!

I'm also joining the All Hallows' Eve party at Book Chick City:

And Eleni-fest, an extravaganza of romance, fantasy and fun with Eleni Constantine on October 20.

And, I'm giving away some cool prizes at Bitten By Books on October 21.

Also, do check out a new blog, The Romantic Journey, launching October 1. It's me and some other fabulous writers, talking about writing and books and stuff we love and all manner of other pleasing things. Author Michelle Holman is launching her new romantic comedy Knotted, and giving away a free copy. And I'll be there next week with free books too. So check it out!

True Blood series 2 has finally made it to Australian television. I had mixed feelings about series one, but I'm willing to give series two a try. So here we go (minor spoilers, for the three people in the world who haven't already seen this):

Episode One.

Sookie: OMG, it's a dead body without a HEART!

Me: Sigh.

Bill: It wasn't me. And it wasn't my pet vampire girl, either.

Sookie: You've got a pet vampire girl? You don't spend every waking moment thinking about ME ME ME ME ME? OMG Bill you LIED to ME ME ME ME ME...

Uncle Kiddy-fiddler: {remember me? I died in the last series?}

Sookie: Hmm, what shall I do with this unwanted inheritance? Tear it up? Donate it to a worthy charity? No, I know. I'll give it to my idiotic but dead cute brother, who'll no doubt piss it away on booze and drugs. Naked. Good thing I don't realise he's in the clutches of the Vile Church of Vampire Hating, or this would be an even worse idea.

Jason: Oh, look. Kool-aid. {glug glug glug}

Sam: {angst}

Sookie: You know, Sam, I feel kinda bad about treating you like a sack of sh*t...

Sam: Get lost, Sookie.

Me: Yay!!!!

Sookie: Bill, did you kill Uncle Kiddie-fiddler?

Bill: {tortured silence}

Sookie: OMG Bill you are a MURDERWAH!!! My untarnished conscience is... well, tarnished. I can't bear the sight of you!!!

Bill: But Sookie, I WUV you.

Sookie: Oh. Okay, then. Let's shag. In fact, let's make a really UNSEXY sex scene.

Lafayette: I'm not dead! Surprise! Instead, I'm chained to a merry-go-round in a cellar with a redneck who secretly wants me to blow him. This really SUCKS.

Eric: {glower}

TO BE CONTINUED...

So there you have it. This show is strangely entertaining for all its faults -- well, it only really has one, heroine-shaped fault for me.

Sookie is still whining. Eric has foils in his hair. And Lafayette is still there. I'll be back next week :)

Where have I been, since those fab conferences I posted such lovely pics about? The correct answer to that question, of course, is: writing.

And I have been, for the most part. I am a good girl. Working on my book #3, SHADOWSONG. Banshees and snakes. Oh. My.

I'm also a guest today with the fabulous Deadline Dames, talking about how, when you sell a book, everyone thinks you suddenly know something about writing that they don't. Boy, is everyone wrong.

It hasn't escaped my notice that today is the one month pre-anniversary (did I just make that up??) of my debut release. So, to celebrate, I'm offering a free short story as a download from my website! Yay! Free stuff!

It's called HELLCURSED, and it's about Jade, my succubus heroine from SHADOWFAE. Rest assured, you don't need to read it to understand the book. I am not one of those cruel authors who expects you to understand everything before you start :) and it is a story. With a beginning and an end. Not an excerpt. I promise.

Here's a little blurb:


So pop on over and check out HELLCURSED. It's dark. It's sexy. It's free. Hope you enjoy it.

Obviously, I couldn't get enough.

Last week was RWAust and Brisbane. This week, the Romance Writers of New Zealand 16th Annual Conference, and my very first visit to New Zealand and Auckland. Like Australia, except cheaper. And the grass is greener. No, really, it is. More water in NZ.

(P.S. Same deal with the lj-cut. Sorry, scrolling peeps. Can you say counter-frickin-intuitive? Times this function has worked for me: never. Don't get. Please explain.)

On with the fun!!

Romance Writers of Australia's Hot August Nights conference. It was huge. It was awesome. It was exhausting. Sanitised pictorial evidence follows. You've been warned.

(Oh, and sorry, folks. The lj-cut just WON'T WORK. Apologies if you didn't want to scroll through this. Nothing I can do. LJ? You listening? Why is this function so FRICKIN' HARD to use?)

We began with the Friday night cocktail party, sponsored by the good folks at Harlequin and themed 'Arabian Nights'. A good time and much free alcohol and nibblies were had by all.

Here's the incomparable and resplendent 'Queen of Romance', Valerie Parv, and me. 



Conference was awesome. Now, I'm tired. Tomorrow. I'm off to Auckland to the RWNZ conference, to do it all again :)

I'm hacking away at the WIP. I'm in that phase where I hate it, you know? It's the Worst Book Ever and no one will like it, etc. etc. blah blah woe is me.

Which must mean it's going okay. Right? For the writers out there: how do you guys deal with this? Push through? Work on something else?

Me, I just keep writing. It'll be the best I can make it, and that's all I can hope for.

In other news, yes, a couple of folks have read my little book. Here's where I show you what they said about SHADOWFAE:

( Review madness... )

Okay? I'm not there. All you folks in Washington DC, tweeting and blogging and driving the rest of us out of our minds with conference-envy. I'm not there. Hmph.

I'm at home, writing. You guys just keep on talking :)

Check out this Washington Post article for an outsider's view on RWA:


P.S. Today (Saturday) is your last day to drop over to Vampire Wire for a chance to win a SHADOWFAE ARC.

You do know that I don't even have ARCs yet, right? If you win, you'll likely get one before I do. So get on over there and make me envious.

I might have mentioned I've started a new WIP, the embryonic book #3 SHADOWSONG. Yes?

Well, I'm writing along, see, and I realise the conflict between my hero and a minor villain isn't strong enough. She's standing there twiddling her evil little fingers... well, she's floating, and they're long three-jointed fingers, actually, but... 

So she's forming her nefarious plan. And I decided her plan just wasn't... well... evil enough. Either to carry the scene or to make her interesting, beyond the floating and the spooky finger twiddling.

Oh, noes!! I'll have to change some of the plot! Whatever shall I do?

I figure out a few really, truly eeevil ideas that'll make it work. And, because I have an outline... well, it's actually a twenty-page mess of scenes and point of view switches and character motivations and story arcs, but for simplicity's sake, we'll call it an outline...

...because I have an outline, I can see at a glance exactly where those changes have to happen, and how they'll affect the rest of the story.

A few slashes of my red pen -- well, it's a pink pen, actually, and I ask you, how many people have a pink pen?? -- a few pink slashes, and I'm done. Easy peasy. No sweat. Fixed. Ta-da!!

Pantsers, you so don't know what you're missing. Bwahahaha.

So, writers, are you a plotter or a make-it-up-as-you-go-er? How would you approach a silly mistake an important dilemma such as the one above? Forget it, keep writing and go back to fix it later? Go back to first principles? Write the new scene anyway and worry about the consequences later?

Me, I love me them outlines :)

P.S. Drop by Vampire Wire later on today right now!! Marta is interviewing Doug Knipe from SciFiGuy, and he's giving away an ARC of SHADOWFAE!!!

I'd wait for the post so I can give you the proper link, but I have to go to bed sometime tonight :) Okay, so I didn't go to bed yet :) Here's the link to Doug's interview at Vampire Wire. Leave a comment, contribute to the excellence of book blogs and maybe win a copy of SHADOWFAE!!

This is the very first copy of my book on the open market -- complete with free typos!! -- so go on over and see if you can nab it for yourself!

tezmilleroz  has posted a lovely review of SHADOWFAE. My favourite sentence: 'Even icky and slimy death is richly colourful.'

This is my very first review and it didn't hurt at all :)

Check it out here. Thanks, Tez!

In other news, I've started writing the new book #3 of the series, entitled SHADOWSONG. Banshees and snakes, oh my!

 ...just because it's fun. You're supposed to list the first lines of your manuscripts/works in progress. So here goes:

SHADOWFAE: The dark shape in the bed didn't stir.

SHADOWGLASS: Stolen diamond bracelets glittered on my wrists in the colored nightclub lights, and I laughed, my wings swelling damp in the warm crush of bodies.

SHADOWSONG (WIP): They say that when a banshee sings, someone dies.

RAPIDFIRE (Science fiction WIP): I took a seat before the director's shiny black desk, adjusting my plasma pistol so it wouldn't dig into my ribs.

UF WIP, working title 'the zombie book' (ha ha!): The worst thing about being dead?

Ha. You're just dying to know the answer, aren't you? Of course you are. Well, maybe if you play nice with me, I'll tell you later what my zombie had to say.

Question: if you were a zombie, what would be the worst thing about being dead?

For me, I think it'd be the poor digestion. I love eating, but meat tends to disagree with me. All those brains... yech.


 

I created Eddie LaCrosse, the protagonist of The Sword-Edged Blonde, more years ago than I like to think about. He was the hero of a story I wrote while a high school senior to impress the new, young, sexy teacher; of course, I never found the nerve to actually show it to her. Back then he was known as "Devareaux LaCrosse," for no good reason that I can recall. But even in that earliest draft he was a "have sword, will travel" kind of guy and he crossed paths with a femme fatale named Rhiannon.

Over the intervening years, he developed into his final version thanks to my own reading tastes. And despite the fact that the novel is undeniably high fantasy, the influences on the main character came from an entirely different genre.

Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe, the original smart-ass detective, was a huge influence. Marlowe had a quip for all occasions, even if he sometimes kept them to himself. He also had a rigid moral code that helped him navigate the ambiguous mean streets he prowled. While Bogart was the definitive film Marlowe in The Big Sleep, the one most like Eddie was played by Elliot Gould in Robert Altman's film version of The Long Goodbye. This Marlowe's refrain is, "It's okay with me" -- until it's not.

Ross Macdonald's Lew Archer was a more human and connected version of Marlowe. He lacked the wit, but he made up for it in his ability to ferret out the emotional reasons people did horrible things. That skill -- to quickly and accurately judge people -- is probably the quality of Archer, and Eddie, that I envy most. And unlike the other characters on this list, Archer also tried and failed to have a normal life. Eddie, in his young adulthood, went through a similar experience.

Andrew Vachss' Burke gave me the idea of having a dark period in Eddie's past where he did questionable things before acknowledging his own conscience. Burke, a product of foster homes and state institutions, spent time as a mercenary and compensated for his lack of biological family by connecting with a group of similarly isolated outcasts he knew he could trust. Eddie had a similar dark period, and he's also slowly built up a network of people he trusts, even if no one else does. His secret goes back to the Archer effect: he is able to understand why people do what they do.

And finally, the biggest influence of all was Robert B. Parker's Spenser. Witty, well-read, tough yet vulnerable, he became my favorite literary character from the moment I finished Pale Kings and Princes. I gave my youngest son the middle name Spenser; I gave Eddie the character’s insistent wit (unlike Philip Marlowe, Spenser hardly ever keeps his ironic comments to himself) and willingness to find the best solutions in the gray area between good and evil. Spenser also isn't a womanizer. He has a steady romantic partner through most of the series. While I don't want to give anything away about future stories, Eddie has also outgrown the need to chase every peasant blouse that passes before him.

When I write about Eddie LaCrosse now, I no longer see these pieces. He's come alive in my imagination, and the longer I work with him, the more he departs from his influences. But these sources can't be denied, and I would never try. Instead, if you find you like Eddie in The Sword-Edged Blonde, I'd point you toward the characters listed above. They each have their own worlds, but you'll find traces of them in Eddie's.

Sigh.

I picked up the first of a new urban fantasy series on the weekend. You probably know the one. It comes out every few months in different guises, by different authors and with different titles, but you'll know the one when you see it. It's had a lot of hype. It's got fancy packaging, sassy cover art and kick-ass blurbs. It's had gushing reviews, everyone says it's new and original and a fresh twist on the genre and the BEST thing EVA.

You pick it up in the store, and hairs lift on the back of your neck. The cover's stunning. The cover copy sounds fantastic. The premise sounds fresh and interesting and full of yummy potential. The characters and the world don't sound quite like anything you've ever read before. Excitement tingles your skin, and you can't stumble to the counter to buy it fast enough. You rush home with a dopey grin on your face, itching with anticipation to read something different.

Finally, you curl up on the couch and begin to read.

And by page five, your delight is shattered. The heroine is the same wisecracking kick-ass creature-hunter you've read a million times before. The hero is generic and alpha, dark and handsome and freakishly sexy and the same as every other frickin' hero you've seen the last eight hundred books. The writing is fine, sure, but the dialogue is tired. The characterisations are bland and old. That magical fresh premise is wasted on boring characters that could have come from any UF book.

In short, the book is nothing new. What you thought could be your new favourite book of the year is the SAME. OLD. STUFF.

Sigh. Disappointed. I'm not going to name names. But this was a DNF for me.

On a brighter note, I did finish an ARC of a cheeky fantasy mystery called The Sword-Edged Blonde. Now THAT was something different. Crazy goddesses, psychotic crippled dwarves, ruthless kings and murdered princes and a baffling mystery -- and most gratifyingly, NOT your standard fantasy hero. Mr Eddie Lacrosse, witty, smooth and clever, seriously kick-ass, but with this shy little wounded heart that just charmed the socks off me.

I'll have the author, Alex Bledsoe, here tomorrow to show off his book. Please drop by and say hi.

I'm going to Sydney for a writing workshop this weekend. It's by Robert McKee, screenwriting expert and author of Story.

If it's anything like the book, it'll be truly awesome. My Inner Outlining Geek is already salivating.


In other news, behold the following, from Publishers Marketplace: