Writer and Cat Win the Cyber-Launch!

Good morning, Blog Buddies!
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Well, my very own Cyber-Launch Book Party ended last night at six, as scheduled.  A good time was had by all, despite Larry lurking around for a snack.  I don't know how I ended up with that vampire-reject.  Anyway, Writer and Cat won the drawing.  The human part of that team, author Jody Wallace , will be officially receiving the prize, although I'm sure Meankitty will help inspect the Alaskan moose plush toy at least.
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P.S. Here's some FREE YA fiction Jody wrote, a good taste of her many talents.
Worst Christmas

Cyber-Launch Book Party for SUGAR RUSH!

At last, after four long years of learning, writing, and querying, I'm throwing my very own Cyber-Launch Book Party. 

To read about past Cyber-Launch Book Parties here at Enduring Romance, please click on the link in the directory or the tag at the bottom of this post.  It all started organically four years ago after I read GAMES OF COMMAND by Linnea Sinclair and wished I could attend a book party for it.  I threw a virtual one on my old blog.  That was all fine and good, but after the initial excitement things started getting boring.  So, I started making stuff up.  Pretty soon, we had Tribbles with fangs bouncing through the comment section and a mummy who lost its head in a lightsaber duel, staggering around searching for it.  Things got a little crazy, but everyone seemed to have a good time.  Now, it's finally my turn.

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There will be a drawing when the party ends at 6 p.m. tonight.  If you wish to enter this drawing, you must leave a comment with some way of contacting you via email.  If you have a username that links to your Blogger profile, that's perfect.  I must have some way of contacting you to let you know you won.  The prize is a free eBook of SUGAR RUSH, plus a few goodies sent by snail-mail, including an Alaskan moose plush toy. 

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If you want to learn more about SUGAR RUSH before attending the party, please scroll down to read a review, excerpt, and links to guest posts.  And/or, you can visit Kimber An's Main Site  Additionally, Sugar Rush is now on sale at Decadent Publishing   and   Amazon

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Okay, got your blaster and protective footwear?  Life insurance?  Good!  I shall now wave my fairy wand and zap you through the Temporal Vortex Chamber! 

SUGAR RUSH Now at Amazon

SUGAR RUSH at Amazon
Oh, crap, I still haven't created my author's page there yet!
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By the way, the Cyber-Launch Book Party starts in just under three hours?  I've just sent the Blood-Sucking Dead Guys to breakfast so they won't be hungry when the party starts.  If you're diabetic, try to remember you're only a lollypop to the Oldbloods and the Newbloods weren't invited.  Still, it's a good idea to bring your diabecracker along to watch your back.  What's a diabecracker?
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A diabecracker is someone who loves a diabetic.  The nickname was originally created as an insult by the Newbloods (alien/human hybrids,) but the diabecrackers embraced it like the American revolutionaries embraced the British insult, Yankees.  Newbloods find diabecrackers extremely annoying.  Diabecrackers are always helping or trying to help diabetics avoid and escape the Newbloods, and making sure they test and eat right and all that.

Cyber-Launch Book Party for SUGAR RUSH in the Morning

The party officially starts at 6 a.m. and runs until 6 p.m. Alaska Time.  Pop in and out, but do watch out for the trolls.  They ate chili tonight and they're very cranky.  And stinky.  For an example of the general lunacy of our parties, please read Lisa Shearin's party for Armed and Magical
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By commenting, you will be entered into a drawing for a free eBook of SUGAR RUSH and an Alaskan moose plush toy and possibly other goodies.  See you in the morning!  Be careful going into the Temporal Vortex Chamber though.  If you get nauesous upon rematerialization, there's nothing we can do about it.

Release Week Festivities for Sugar Rush

Good evening, Blog Buds!
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I can't believe it.  My first novel will be out this coming Friday, October 22nd.  My main site is complete with a partial sample first chapter-
http://www.kimberan.com/p/sugar-rush-sample-chapters.html
And a Media Kit for Bloggers-
http://www.kimberan.com/p/media-kit-for-bloggers.html
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If you would like to help spread the word, you can find all you need on the Media Kit page.  Of course, I'm happy to guest blog and all that too.  Just email me.   kimber.an@yahoo.com 
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I am so busy and tired and my To-Do List is long.  Several blog buddies have graciously agreed to post or let me post about the blessed event.  I'll post here to let you know when and where that happens.  So far, I know I'll be at the SFR Brigade, the Galaxy Express, Alien Romances, Debuts & Reviews, and Lisa Shearin's blog.
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My daughter, known here as Kimber, Jr, is reading Sugar Rush and will post her review on Tuesday.

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On Saturday, I will throw a Cyber-Launch Book Party for myself, just like I used to for other authors.  If you want to know about those, follow this link to Lisa Shearin's last one-
http://enduringromance.blogspot.com/2008/04/cyber-launch-book-party-for-armed.html
I wonder if I can get her to bring her goblins to be the bouncers?  Hmmm...
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Meanwhile, today we tried really hard to take my author's photograph, but the Alaskan weather did not cooperate.  We've had snow, but it hasn't stuck for the winter yet.  Today, the wind blew ice-cold as you can tell from the very best (waaaah!) picture of the ones we took

We did manage to get this one before my baby girl started crying from being so tired and hungry. 

A good book puts off just about anything bad, but when a girl is tired AND hungry only Mama, Do You Love Me? by Barbara M. Joose will work.

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So, anyway, I reckon we'll try to do the pictures again next weekend.

No More Cyber-Launch Parties

Good morning, Blog Buds! I've decided to take advantage of this review-free Sunday to make a couple of Enduring Romance blog announcements.

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First, I've decided not to host anymore Cyber-Launch Parties. I love them. They're such a blast. However, I've developed Tendinitis, which I hear can develop into Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. I have to take care of my hands and limit the time I spend on the computer. As some of you know, I'm an aspiring author working against a self-imposed deadline for a novel, MANIC KNIGHT, and the deadline is September 1st to launch that puppy into Queryland. Also, I'm a Homeschool Mom, as a lot of parents in Alaska are, and our homeschool year starts August 18th. So, yanno, I have very busy hands anyway. Cyber-Launch Parties require a lot of keyboard time. However, if my fellow reviewers want to throw Cyber-Launch Parties, they're certainly welcome to it!

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Secondly, I'm cutting back to one book review per month. I'm already committed to A NOBLE SACRIFICE by Ciara Gold and HERETIC QUEEN by Michelle Moran this month, but starting in September with MAKE IT HOT by Gwyneth Bolton it's one book review per month only. In case you haven't noticed though, Robyn at Stonehenge has started doing *two* books a month. So, yanno, there'll still be plenty of love floating around Enduring Romance.

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Thirdly, Robyn at Stonehenge, that little go-getter, is taking over Tuesday News. Thanks, Robyn! My hands just couldn't take it. Hope she takes good care of hers.

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Lastly, to facilitate 'secondly' I'm sending some of my books to my fellow reviewers. Authors, if your book is reviewed by someone other than me, it doesn't mean I don't love you or your books anymore. It means they're generously helping me out so your book gets reviewed in a timely manner. Otherwise, I'd be booked through Summer 2009!

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Okay, I can't resist posting one last Reason Why I Pass on Some Novels' like I used to do for Tuesday News.

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FAKE HEROES

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I grew up with brothers, enjoyed hanging out with guy buddies, happily married a long, long time, and I have a son. I *know* what real men are like and I like them that way! My husband is my hero and I know what is required to make a hero. Please don't insult what little intelligence I have. Devestatingly handsome Romance novel heroes with washerboard abs who are able to seduce the heroine to the heights of ecstacy (without needing to be seduced themselves) after running all night through snake-infested swamps, battling fangore beasts, and still smell nice do *not* impress me.

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Cover art which features nicely sculpted male buttocks, however, does.

Then, I'll get whiplash. Geez, how'd Susan Grant's next novel, WARLORD'S DAUGHTER, get in here? (Kimber rubs sore neck.) Okay, I admit there's an element of fantasy! For the record, I can personally attest that ALL of Susan Grant's heroes know how to change diapers. That's how she single-handedly drew me back into the Romance genre after two decades of boycotting it.

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The point is, I think authors should find out what really impresses real women about real male heroes and build on that. Don't just make assumptions based on what's selling hot right now. The readers I know will gag from the Endless Parade of Sameness. Most Romance novel readers are over 25, which means they're experienced with real Romance and real men. And if they're moms, which the majority of over-25s probably are, they're going to be even more discriminating. Like I always say, "If he won't change diapers, I don't care how sexy he is. He can chase a parked bus for all I care!" This extends to small, helpless animals too. One of the ways my husband won me over was how he handled a cat he didn't like. The cat adored him.

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Have a good Sunday, Blog Buds.
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SHADES OF DARK Cyber-Launch Book Party!

Welcome, Blog Buddies, to Linnea Sinclair's THIRD Cyber-Launch Party. Her first one, for GAMES OF COMMAND, didn't survive the transferal from the old SCD blog. You can find the second, for DOWN HOME ZOMBIE BLUES, by clicking on her name in the Directory. This one, of course, is for SHADES OF DARK, which is in stores right now. SHADES is book two after GABRIEL'S GHOST, which won the Rita for Best Paranormal Romace a couple years back. The third installment, HOPE'S FOLLY, comes out next year.
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Before I get to Linnea's interview, I should probably tell you the party is held in the comments for this post. You might want to take this opportunity to put on your protective clothing. Steel-toed boots are recommended. Besides the Jukors from SHADES, the Klingons are already there sharpening their teeth. You have had all your shots, right? Rabies? Tarkalian Flu?
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I sent Linnea some questions and she graciously answered them, even though she was busy getting ready to attend the Romance Writers of America national convention. I still haven't forgiven the RWA for not awarding GAMES OF COMMAND the Rita, by the way. Anyway, here's the interview-
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Kimber An: Can you share the journey you took in creating SHADES OF DARK? Did you write GABRIEL’S GHOST knowing it would be the first in a trilogy? If so, did SHADES OF DARK follow directly in your head or come later? If not, what made you decide on a trilogy?
Linnea Sinclair: SHADES, as a lot of my readers know, was originally titled CHASIDAH’S CHOICE and was plotted out (roughly) shortly after I sold GABRIEL’S GHOST to LTDBooks of Canada back in 2001 (or so—I don’t remember exact dates). GABRIEL’S was always, to me, part of a larger story and not just the story of Chaz and Sully. I very much enjoyed working with LTDBooks but never got the chance to write CHASIDAH’S CHOICE due to my being acquired by Bantam just around the time LTDBooks closed. BANTAM bought GABRIEL’S GHOST, along with FINDERS KEEPERS and AN ACCIDENTAL GODDESS but there was no talk, during that first three-book contract, of any follow-up to any of the books. GABRIEL’S winning the RITA award, however, spurred me to talk with my agent and editor about the second book.
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Bantam has not, to date, looked to me to produce series for them. Maybe they don’t feel I’m a series-kind of writer. Maybe they already have sufficient series. Whatever the reason, though I know (because they’ve told me so) that they would gladly look at any book ideas I have, the have—if not outrightly so, at least with gentle but firm nudging—let me know that sequels are what they’re interested in more than series. Maybe spin-offs is better word. I’m looking directly at my notes from a conversation I had with my agent on the matter: “Not series but linked characters.” Like the TV show Frazier was to Cheers.
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That’s why HOPE’S FOLLY really doesn’t make it a trilogy. FOLLY contains many of the characters found in SHADES and GABRIEL’S but it’s not a continuation of Chaz’s and Sully’s story. There’s also one more book contracted in that universe, which, sitting here at this moment, I have a few vague ideas for but nothing plotted. I have to finish FOLLY first.
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SHADES is a continuation of Chaz’s and Sully’s story. It starts just about three months after GABRIEL’S ends so it’s as if readers can take a short breather, hit the loo, grab another beer and jump back into the action. For that reason also, I highly recommend reading GABRIEL’S first. Otherwise much of what happens in SHADES will lack impact.
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SHADES is a very intense story and, as a number of bloggers and reviewers have noted, darker in tone than most of my other books, like FINDERS KEEPERS or THE DOWN HOME ZOMBIE BLUES. Sully has also been a darker, more complex character to me. SHADES and GABRIEL’S are also my only first person books to date. That’s also why the tone may seem different.
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Kimber: It seems to me books in trilogies are published one right after another, but SHADES OF DARK was published nearly three years after GABRIEL’S GHOST. What’s with that? Are you concerned it will hurt reviews or sales?
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Linnea: I guess one of the answers to your question is that it’s not a trilogy. The other is that FINDERS, GABRIEL’S and GODDESS were a three-book contract, so Bantam had to print and release all three before we could talk about whether they were even interested in more books from me. There’s no guarantee that just because a publisher buys one book from you that they’ll buy another. They released the first three, watched reviews, watched sales, watched the buzz. If that hadn’t pleased them, then there wouldn’t have been any more contract offers. SHADES was part of the second three-book contract I had with them and was slated for the last release in that trio because it was only plotted, not written. GAMES OF COMMAND had about 55,000 words already done (but not finished). THE DOWN HOME ZOMBIE BLUES had about 35,000 words written (but not finished). SHADES has a two page plot outline. So when the deal was done, I went to work finishing those books that were the quickest to finish.
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You need to understand that NY publishing houses have a list of books already in the queue months if not years ahead of time. Two years between contract and release is about par. There’s a ton of work required in producing a book. I go through—easily—three edits plus galleys. Then there’s cover art, back cover blurb and so on. So when a book is contracted, the powers that be then look at the next available opening they have in their queue and see if that time slot would work for the book. For example, if there’s a holiday themed book under contract, they’re going to release it around that holiday. So that may take up a “next available time slot” for another non-holiday book which then gets bumped to the next-next available time slot, and so on. They also look, I’m told, at what else is being released that month. Is there another book similar or with a similar title? They won’t release two books in the same month that could be confused for each other. So you then get next-next-next bumped.
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THE DOWN HOME ZOMBIE BLUES, which was released in November of 2007, was originally scheduled for August or September. But as I was working on meeting the deadline for that, I was injured in a car accident and two months later, my father passed away. Bantam quite generously understood there was no way I was going to make deadline so my editor and I agreed to bump back ZOMBIE which bumped back SHADES. Domino effect. As it was, if memory serves me, the only reason ZOMBIE got the November slot was the author slated for that slot couldn’t make HER deadline. Otherwise both ZOMBIE and SHADES would have been out several months earlier.
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Yes, I’m concerned about sales and about confusion in reviews. Since Bantam doesn’t put “book two” on the cover, there’s no way for readers to know SHADES is book two, other than word of mouth, word of blog or by reading my acknowledgments pages which says…” To my readers, thank you for waiting for the rest of Chaz’s and Sully’s story, which started with Gabriel’s Ghost.” That little sentence was the brilliant idea of brilliant author Susan Grant, who’s had to do such things before when publishers wouldn’t put a book’s sequence on the cover. One more example of how I’d be lost without the help of such terrific sister-authors.
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The upside, though, is that Bantam is releasing my backlist with all new cover art and switching me from the SF shelves to the romance shelves, which means hundreds of readers who’ve never read me will now find me, and have no clue there’s almost three years between GABRIEL’S and SHADES in release date. Honestly, you kids are so used to me that you don’t realize I’m still largely “Linnea who?” SFR—as I know you do know—is a small sub-genre. I’m still clawing my way into the light of recognition. I get fan mail every month from readers who just now found FINDERS KEEPERS or just now found GAMES OF COMMAND and have never read me before. Part of that is also distribution: I’m not in Target, Wal-Mart or the grocery stores, where drive-by readers can stumble upon you. I am in all major bookstores but for the romance reader who never ventures into the SF section, I’m an unknown.
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So as far as a lot of romance readers go, I’m JUST showing up, 2006 RITA® -award win notwithstanding.
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Kimber: SHADES OF DARK is a romance involving an established (though new) couple. Being a long-married person, I find this refreshing, but it seems rare in the Romance genre. Was there any resistance from your agent, editor, publisher, beta readers, or cats?
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Linnea: None whatsoever. My editor loves the characters of Sully and Chaz and was totally pleased with the story. In fact, SHADES was the first manuscript that my copy editor ever wrote notes in the margins to tell me how I’d brought her to tears at certain places. I guess if you get kudos from a CE, who certainly sees tons of manuscripts, you’re doing okay.

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Kimber: Oooh, that's so sweet!
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Linnea: I really enjoyed writing Chaz and Sully as a “given” and not having to go through the whole “does /she like me?” stage in a book. I liked playing with the “have I lost my partner’s respect?” more than “does he find me hot yet?” At least to me, that’s more what most of us are going through at this stage in our lives. Keeping love alive is a lot harder than falling in love. It’s one of the reasons I enjoy JD Robb’s Roarke and Dallas. They have their ups and downs, they have their jockeying-for-position as will happen when two strong people get into a relationship. They have to deal with the balance of needs. I find that just as if not more so intriguing than “does he find me hot yet?”
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Not that established lovers don’t have their share of heat. One of my favorite scenes in SHADES involves not only heat but the easy, teasing camaraderie that is one of the perks of an established relationship:
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*Excerpt*

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Sully sighed. “Chasidah, your emotions run very deep. When you get in that angry-but-protective mode, it’s such a mixture of the masculine and the feminine properties. An invincibility. A belief in what’s right. You have that like no one else I’ve met. And it’s...don’t laugh at me, but it’s exciting. Arousing. Your entire aura just shimmers. I call it your ‘captain in charge’ mode.”

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“You get hot when I play captain?”

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Hooded eyes met mine. “I get very hot when you play captain.” He moved closer, draping his leg over my thighs, showing me just how hot he did get.
“Well, in that case, I may have to ask for a raise.” I lifted the sheet. “Oh, look. I already got one.”

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I made it onto the bridge with barely three minutes to spare before the start of my duty shift.
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Kimber (fanning face): What sets SHADES OF DARK apart from GABRIEL’S GHOST? What will you say to readers who wonder if it’s ‘more of the same?’
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Linnea: What sets SHADES OF DARK apart? About three months. In many ways, yes, it’s more of the same: more intense action, more edge-of-your-seat situations, more hard choices. It’s Chaz and Sully three months farther along in discovering each other (a lifelong process in a relationship) while outside forces pummel them relentlessly. It’s betrayal of family, of trust. It’s adversaries who surprise you with their friendship. It’s friends who attack because they know your weaknesses. In the midst of all that, it’s a story of the resilience of love.
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Kimber: Cool.
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Linnea: Just like Gabriel’s Ghost.
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Kimber: Is there anything else we should know about SHADES OF DARK?
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Linnea: Only that the author has a Yahoo fan group and loves to answer questions about her books there: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LinneaSinclair
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Kimber: When’s the third book HOPE’S FOLLY coming out? Can you tell us a little about it?

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Linnea: HOPE’S FOLLY is due out end of February 2009, which may seem distant to some of you, but to me, on deadline and not finished writing it yet, it’s coming up much too quickly. I have only a few more weeks before I need to turn in the manuscript. An intravenous caffeine drip is looking pretty good right about now.
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FOLLY came about because in the middle of writing SHADES, Admiral Philip Guthrie—Chaz’s ex-husband and Sully’s often nemesis—showed up in my office and perched on the arm of the overstuffed chair. He was trying hard, I know, to appear non-threatening. He wanted his story told, badly. He had a point. He’d had a rough role to play in GABRIEL’S. He was even shot. Then in SHADES, he found himself in a lot more trouble. A LOT. He really is a decent kind of guy and in a matter of two books, I’d taken away everything he’d ever worked for, everything he’d ever believed in. I was definitely not easy on him.
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So he showed up in my office asking, very nicely, if his story couldn’t be told. On a little better note, if it wasn’t all that much trouble. He thought he had a lot to offer as a hero (he does). He just wanted a nice little space opera with a few deep-space shoot ‘em ups where he could come out the victor.
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I agreed. I found him a ship. I gave him a mission. But I also threw in something—someone—else. Surprise. He also gets Rya. Here’s the official back cover blurb just finalized last week:
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From RITA Award-winning author Linnea Sinclair comes a high-stakes interstellar adventure infused with thrilling romance.
Admiral Philip Guthrie is in an unprecedented position: on the wrong end of the law, leading a rag-tag band of rebels against the oppressive Imperial forces. Or would be, if he can get his command ship—the derelict cruiser called Hope’s Folly—functioning. Not much can rattle Philip’s legendary cool—but the woman who helps him foil an assassination attempt on Kirro Station will. She’s the daughter of his best friend and first commander—a man who died while under Philip’s command, and whose death is on Philip’s conscience.
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Rya Bennton has been in love with Philip Guthrie since she was a girl. But can her childhood fantasies survive an encounter with the hardened man, and newly-minted rebel leader, once she learns the truth about her father’s death? Or will her passion for revenge put not only their hearts but their lives at risk? It’s an impossible mission: A man who feels he can’t love. A woman who believes she’s unlovable. And an enemy who will stop at nothing to crush them both.
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Oh, one more thing. He also gets a cat.
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Kimber: Gotta love a man who loves a cat. He does love the cat, right? So…what are Brandon and Sass up to these days? Do I hear the pitter-patter of little cybernetic feet on the command bridge?
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Linnea: Paws, perhaps. Or most definitely paws. As for the rest, Kimber, you know me well. I write or try to write what I can write convincingly and with passion. Children or family-type situations are best left to other authors. Besides, given the danger inherent in most of my stories, I fear my readers would have Child Protection Services after me if I put young ones in those scenes. Dealing with assassination attempts and warships loaded with ion torpedoes doesn’t make for a reasonable or responsible Bring Your Daughter To Work Day.
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I do realize children are born in the midst of war zones all the time on our planet. But I don’t want to feature that in my books, validating it as something readers should aspire to. To me, that’s sending a wrong message about the responsibilities of parenthood, especially as the technology in my books is such that children are a choice and not an oops. Given that state of Sass’s and Brandon’s “world,” I feel it would be very irresponsible of them to put a child at risk in a war zone on a war ship. The safety of that child would also put an additional burden on the crew. I know some people might find such a situation romantic. I find it horrifying. But then, maybe I spent a few too many years as a private investigator seeing some of the less-than-savory aspects of life.
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The only other option—given the structure of my world building—would be the one Chaz rejected: bear a child, place it with a ‘droid nanny and pick it up seventeen years later. That was the childhood in many ways that Brandon had, and I don’t think he has fond memories of it.
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So my HEAs don’t include diapers.

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Kimber: Actually, I was hinting at a sequel for GAMES OF COMMAND, but that's all interesting stuff too!


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The rest of yas, if you want to enter Linnea's drawing, you need to comment in the comment section with a working email. Here are the really cool prizes-



;)
Also, pop over to Linnea's website to learn more about her other books- http://linneasinclair.com/
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There you have it, folks. And now on with the Cyber-Launch Party for Linnea...
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"Susan Grant!"


Angelica, calm down.
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"Gwyneth Bolton!"
Junior, I'm going to tell your parents on you. (Kimber sighs) Listen, both of you, Linnea doesn't mind sharing the limelight. You can tell everybody about MOONSTRUCK...
...and PROTECT AND SERVE, if you want to.
And now, I shall wave my fairy wand and...
...no, wait, that's for Lisa Shearin's parties.
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Okay, quick change here.

And now, I shall click on my mobile link to the Transdimensional Vortext Chamber and send you to the Cyber-Launch Party. Please be respectful of my younger friends (under 18), thank you!

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Update: Much to my chagrin, Wierd Al has been tossed off the stage again. However, his replacement is reeeelly cute!


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Soulja Boy's rocking the house now. Click on this link to enable- http://new.music.yahoo.com/singleVideo/?vid=45557508

Cyber-Launch Book Party for ARMED & MAGICAL

This is it! Welcome to the Cyber-Launch Book Party for Lisa Shearin's second Fantasy novel, ARMED & MAGICAL! Do be careful. The goblins look like Chippendale dancers, but they do have fangs. Also, the trolls are a little cranky at having to get up so early this morning.

Lisa's in a bit of a jam, which Susan Grant once told me is called 'Deadline Hell.' So, I swiped a Lisa Shearin interview from her page at Penguin. If you want to read my review of ARMED & MAGICAL, click on Lisa Shearin's name in the directory. All things Lisa Shearin can be found there! ARMED & MAGICAL hits the bookstores Tuesday, April 29th.

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Now, sit back and enjoy the Penguin interview:
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A Q&A with Lisa Shearin, author of Armed and Magical

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Armed & Magical is set in a traditional fantasy world, replete with elves and goblins. But what's so refreshing about your novel is the first person narrator, Raine Benares, an elven sorceress. Raine has *attitude*! Why did you decide to put a heroine with contemporary sensibilities in a Tolkien-esque world of swords, horses, and magic?

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Anyone looking at my bookshelves can see that I love genre fiction: fantasy, detective, action adventure, mystery, romantic comedy, crime capers, and political thrillers. I think that over the years they all just sort of merged in my head and Raine Benares and her world was the result. I simply wrote the type of books I wanted to read, but couldn't quite find. Well, that and Raine didn't give me a choice.

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Mixing contemporary sensibilities with traditional fantasy was a hard line to walk. I resisted doing it for as long as I could, but I finally gave in. Raine's voice just wouldn't be forced into traditional “fantasy speak,” and third-person was out of the question—Raine let me know that in no uncertain terms from day one. Once I started writing in first-person, I immediately found her voice, and I really knew I was on to something when my other characters started coming out of the woodwork as if they heard their cue to come on stage.
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Armed & Magical also has a romantic element, with Raine juggling the attentions of Mychael, a handsome elven spellsinger, and Tam, a sexy goblin. I think we've all seen Orlando Bloom as Legolas enough to understand the appeal of an elf, but a goblin is an unusual choice for a love interest. Can you tell us more about your goblins? How are they different from the traditional ones?

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I wanted to do something different with my elves and goblins. I have two finished manuscripts in my office closet that I consider practice books for what I'm writing now. In those books, I went with the more traditional idea of elves. In fact, the character that eventually became Raine was an elf princess, of all things. Knowing Raine now, I look back on that and it cracks me up. When I started writing Magic Lost, Trouble Found, I decided that not only should Raine be non-royal, she should be from a family of criminals, and she has to work for a living. No hoity-toity elves for me (at least not for Raine and her cousin Phaelan). However, there will be a hoity-toity, pure-blood, high-elf mage in Armed & Magical, named Carnades Silvanus.

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And as to my goblins—most of the goblins in books that I'd read were short, gnarled, and had a bad case of post-nasal drip. Again, I wanted to do something different. I asked myself why couldn't goblins be gorgeous? Why couldn't they be tall, lean, silvery skinned, and wicked sexy? And while I was at it, I thought fangs and long black hair would be a nice touch. (Heck, they don't call it “fantasy” for nothing.) My goblins are just your basic dark-eyed, smooth-talking, dangerous bad boys who you probably wouldn't take home to meet the parents.
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You and your husband are members of a fencing club; no doubt this real world experience is very helpful when writing novels set in a place where swordplay is the norm! How has your knowledge of fencing made its way into the books? Do you and your husband block out fight scenes together?

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Since I've begun writing Raine's adventures, unfortunately I haven't had the time to get back into the fencing gym. But I have five years of fencing experience to fall back on (my Olympic weapons of choice are the foil and epee). And while I was working on the manuscript that would become Magic Lost, Trouble Found, I took private rapier and dagger lessons, and took a lot of notes for future book use. My fencing coach, Wes Caudill, helped me block out the fight scene in the first chapter of Magic Lost, Trouble Found, and is always available for any and all of my combat-related questions.

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Like Raine, I like to be creative in my fighting style. Though unlike Raine, I've never used a rose bush branch as an offhand weapon. I prefer the more traditional offhand weapons: a dagger, a second rapier (fighting with a pair of rapiers is also known as a “case” of rapiers or Florentine style), a dueling cloak (though I never quite got the hang of that), but what was just too much fun was a rapier and a bullwhip. Yep, you heard me right. Believe me, nothing distracts an opponent like a six-foot whip wrapping around their blade. Hmmm, a bullwhip. That sounds like a weapon Raine would like.
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Going back to Armed & Magical, can you give us any hints about what's next for Raine Benares?

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The action in Armed & Magical picks up a week after Magic Lost, Trouble Found ends. Needless to say, Raine isn't going to catch up on her sleep anytime soon. By the end of page three, Raine's already got big problems—an assassination attempt on the archmagus, an encounter with an enemy from her past, and an entirely too public display of her Saghred-enhanced powers. Later, Tam has not one, but two, deep dark secrets from his past that he'd rather keep buried. (Of course they don't stay that way.) Piaras is now a Conclave college student studying spellsinging, and that voice of his attracts way too much of the wrong kind of attention. Mychael has his hands full with Raine, and with trying to keep her from falling prey to the darkest side of the Saghred. Let the fun continue!

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*End of Penguin Interview*

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Lisa just got back from the Romantic Times Convention in Pittsburg. Here she is at her table-

Doesn't she look hot in red? Bet her husband thought so! To learn more about Lisa and her books, pop over to http://www.lisashearin.com/

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On with the party! I got into a major fight with my Happy Helpers, Junior (redhead) and Angelica (Kick-Butt Heroine-in-Training) over music. Naturally, I wanted Weird Al and his hit single, Weasel-Stomping Day.

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However, I was shouted down and now Soulja Boy is in the party room, rocking out. I hope they don't mind getting yanked into an alternate reality. Be sure to click on the link below to watch their music video and buy their album! They really are awesome!
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http://new.music.yahoo.com/singleVideo/?vid=45557508

And now I shall wave my fairy wand and zap you through the Transdimensional Vortex Chamber! Watch your step and please be respectful of my younger friends (the under-18 crowd.) Remember, if you want to be entered into the drawing for signed copies of MAGIC LOST, TROUBLE FOUND and ARMED & MAGICAL, and related goodies, your comment must be linked to a working email. Thank
you!
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Zzzzzzap!

Cyber-Launch Book Party for DOWN HOME ZOMBIE BLUES by Linnea Sinclair!

This is it! You've found it! Watch out for Zombie doo-doo. Jorie really has a way of shoving people's noses in it.

The glorious day for the the Cyber-Launch has finally arrived. Actually, the party runs all day today AND all day Friday. A drawing for zombie-related goodies will be held Friday night, 7 p.m. Alaska Time. I've been waiting since June because that's when I received the Advanced Reader's Copy and reviewed it. If you pop over to read the review, you'll notice it still had the old cover. Scroll down to the Archives on the left to find it in June 2007.
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2007 has been a stellar year for Linnea Sinclair as an author, I think. She released GAMES OF COMMAND in March. I reviewed it on the old Star Captains' daughter blog. You can find it by scrolling down the left side of this blog to the link 'Kimber An's Blog.' Once on the Star Captains' Daughter blog, scroll down the right side until you find the link 'Star Captains' Log.' Click on that and look for the Games of Command Cyber-Launch in March 2007. My book reviewing really took off after that, so I created the Enduring Romance blog just for that. I reviewed GAMES OF COMMAND right here in April. Scroll down to the Archives to find it. GAMES OF COMMAND has one of my favorite heroes of all time, Branden Kel-Paton. Hey, I even have a Games of Command sweatshirt! I've talked to about five people about the book because of that shirt. Just last month I was in the grocery store with my little darlings and a lady kept looking at me funny. Finally, she said, "I love your shirt!" Loved the book, so I was eager to read and review DOWN HOME ZOMBIE BLUES. Both novels are excellent! Even though there aren't any babies (Kimber winks at Linnea.)


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I asked Linnea to answer a few interview-type questions and this is what she said:
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Kimber asked- Can you share the journey you took in creating DOWN HOME ZOMBIE BLUES? What first inspired you? How long has this story been in your head? Did it flesh out right away or did the details come later? How did the characters reveal themselves to you?
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Linnea replied- Before I wrote science fiction romance for Bantam, I was a private detective in the St. Petersburg, FL area (before that, I was news reporter, but that’s another story…). I loved being a PI—research and puzzle-solving are two of my favorite things (well, after hitting the clearance racks at TJ Maxx or Steinmart). The Down Home Zombie Blues gave me a chance to play at being a detective again and bring in the science fiction romance part of me.
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I started writing ZOMBIE about four years ago. I have a very clear recollection of sitting upstairs in my (then) office in my (then) house in Palm Beach, FL (moved since then), pounding out chapters as my husband’s twenty-something year old daughter, Jaime, sat on the floor, reading them as they came out of the printer. Jaime makes a cameo appearance, by the way, as Homeland Security Secretary Jaime Warren in the end of the book. I felt it only fitting.
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But I never finished writing ZOMBIE because shortly thereafter I was contracted by Bantam and then I was in edits and such for the books they bought from me, including FINDERS KEEPERS and GABRIEL’S GHOST. I’m not one of those authors who can write two books at the same time. So ZOMBIE sat until the next time Bantam wanted books from me and I included several chapters with the proposal.
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My stories and characters flesh out pretty easily and quickly. That doesn’t mean there aren’t surprises. But what I end up with is very close to what I start with. I generally know most of what I need to know by the first chapter or two. Jorie and Theo were no exception. I do some freewriting before, kind of a “tell me about yourself and why I you here?”. But I learn best about my characters in action.
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I had an absolute blast writing Zombie and excellent input from some real live police officers and detectives, including Sgt. Steve Huskisson of the Plantation (FL) Police Department and Detective Sgt. Scott Peterson of the Collier County (FL) Sheriff’s Department. I’m sure they thought I was a bona-fide Signal 20 (mentally unstable person) with some of my questions, including having them theorize what they would do if they were abducted to an alien starship. But it gave me a better understanding not only of procedures that would have to be followed through the plot but also of the training and mindset Theo would have.
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What’s also fun about the book is that is went on sale November 27th. The actual action takes place starting mid-December. So the reader ostensibly could be reading the story on the day that action actually take place. Okay, not making myself clear here but I think you get the drift.
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I think of the books as “Men In Black meets CSI: Miami”. I hope readers of all genres find it a fun and fast-paced read.
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Kimber asked- Some of our guests are writers. Can you share your process for? What's your best advice on how they can improve the craft of writing to meet publication standards?
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Linnea replied- Pre-Bantam or post-Bantam? Yeah, there’s a difference. Right now my process from taking a story from rough draft to submission-ready manuscript is don’t sleep, drink lots of coffee, ignore the husband, miss a month’s worth of hockey games and write. Before that, I had a life.
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But basically, writing to contract has made me damn the fact the I’m a pantser and I try to spend the time I’m not writing, learning to plot. I really don’t recommend how I write books to any sane person. Learn to plot, however you want to define that. It doesn’t have to be a formal outline. It can be freewriting. It can be 3x5 cards. It can be using one of those writing programs like PowerWriter or WriteWay. It doesn’t matter what method. The point is to do it.
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Right now I’m using PowerWriter but I’ve used WriteWay and both are really good. PowerWriter is saving my patootie with SHADES OF DARK (sequel to GABRIEL’S GHOST). It’s forcing me to at least sketch out what is likely to happen for the next two or more chapters. It’s invaluable in keeping my notes in one place, which is really why I bought it to begin with. I build cities, worlds, star systems, cultures, political systems, interiors and exteriors of starships and space stations in addition to the usual characters and such. I was writing all this down on various scraps of paper, which I ‘d subsequently lose. Or the cat would barf up a jellied chameleon (because they never really digest those lizards) on my notes and there was no way to recover what I’d written.
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But plotting comes pretty much after you’ve learned to write. To improve your WRITING (not necessarily your book production), Dwight V Swain’s TECHNIQUES OF THE SELLING WRITER is the answer. If you read only one how-to, that’s it. It’s my “Desert Isle Keeper” as AAR says.
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For me, as a reader and a writer, the crux of the story is conflict. The protagonist wants something, the antagonist prevents him from getting it. Or as excellent SF author Jacqueline Lichtenberg puts it (and her site—www.simegen.com—has a free writer’s school chock full of great tips): an urgent and undeniable I MUST slammed flat up against an equally as formidable YOU CANNOT. I’m paraphrasing that here but I hope you get the drift.
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So if you’re looking to get bought by an agent or a major publishing house, working the conflict is your story is critical. Learn the difference between conflict and complication (Jacqueline taught me that). My agent, Kristin Nelson, and I were talking about that a few months back and she said she realized that she rejects a lot of very nicely written manuscripts because the writer uses complication, and not conflict. Briefly, if Kimberly and Brad Pitt go on a picnic and ants show up, that’s complication. If Kimberly and Brad Pitt go on a picnic and Angelina Jolie shows up, that’s complication. The ants don’t care what Kimberly and Brad are doing. Angelina very sincerely gives a damn and will take action based on her feelings. {Kimber's Note: Don't worry, Angelina, I'm happily married and my husband's cuter anyway.}
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Kimber asked- What experience do you hope readers will take away from reading DOWN HOME ZOMBIE BLUES?
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Linnea replied- The same thing I’d want them to take away from any of my books: fun. I try to write what one would watch in the old “Saturday Afternoon At The Movies” mode. Fun, fast-paced, exciting, romantic. Characters you want to cheer for. I noticed a comment by a blogger/poster on one of those more literary, foo-foo kind of book forums (where books with deep, hidden symbolism and existential angst are rated highly) and one poster sniffed down his nose that my books were “good for beach reads.” Well, golly gee gosh-almightly. Yeah, they are. That’s exactly what I want to write: good, fun beach reads. Damned with faint praise, as they say.
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But specific to ZOMBIE, I hope readers also take away a little more respect for law enforcement. As I mentioned above, I worked very closely with a number of police officers and detectives. Their jobs are to a great extent, thankless. At one point in the story, Theo notes what he was taught by his field training officer: Be courteous and polite but never forget that the next person you meet you might have to kill. Most people find that quote amusing but the truth in it is what law enforcement deals with every day. So ZOMBIE is my tip of the hat in thanks to all the men and women in blue out there.
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Kimber asked- Here’s a question I’m just curious about: If the powers-that-be asked you to write a Star Wars or Star Trek novel, would you? Why or why not?
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Linnea replied- I’d definitely think hard and long about it but I would be concerned with my ability to render someone else’s characters correctly. If I could invent my own characters for their world, sure. But I don’t know if I could properly write Leia or Kirk.
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Kimber asked- Can you tell us a little bit about your next novel? What’s the title? When is it due out?
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Linnea replied- SHADES OF DARK is due out late July, 2008. It’s the closing of Chaz and Sully’s story with started in GABRIEL’S GHOST (2006 RITA award winner.) I get asked to go into details on SHADES a lot but I’m reluctant to because it’s a bit difficult to do so without revealing spoilers for GABRIEL’S. I know. What? Not everyone on the planet’s read GABRIEL’S GHOST. Shocks me, too. But they haven’t. I’ve been shelved in science fiction and, in spite of the RITA win, a lot of romance readers aren’t familiar with my books. SHADES will be shelved in romance (I’m told) and pitched as a romance novel (some of my books are shelved in romance but that’s because store managers know my readership. I’m technically not listed as a romance author with the chain bookstores). Suffice it to say, SHADES is just as intense as GABRIEL’S. Just a lot more steamy. Yeah, I see Kimberly sitting back in shock. Me, too. I love to write sexual tension, flirtations, the longing… the chase interests me more than the capture, as they say, and my books reflect that. While I don’t slam the bedroom door shut, I don’t put my characters intimate moments under klieg lights, either. {Kimber's Note: Shocked? Me? And just how do you think I got pregnant four times? They weren't Immaculate Conceptions, Bub!}


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But SHADES, well, it’s steamy. My critique partners went….wow. I didn’t know you would write like that. ::fans self::
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I think why I can with SHADES is that Sully and Chaz are an established couple, for all intents and purposes, married. This is not wild passion exploding in the first ten minutes of meeting (something that sometimes gives me pause as to its plausibility). This is a committed relationship. Plus, Sully being Sully (see, I can’t get into spoilers here) and being a bit unique, well, making love to Chaz has a special purpose and meaning. And a very special purpose to the plot.
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I’m dancing around facts, I know. Best I can do. Here’s Bantam official back cover blurb, per latest update:
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For two fugitive lovers, space has no haven,
no mercy, no light—only...
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SHADES OF DARK
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LINNEA SINCLAIR
Award-winning author of The Down Home Zombie Blues
and Gabriel’s Ghost
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Before her court-martial, Captain Chasidah “Chaz” Bergren was the pride of the Sixth Fleet. Now she’s a fugitive from the “justice” of a corrupt Empire. Along with her lover, the former monk, mercenary, and telepath Gabriel Ross Sullivan, Chaz hoped to leave the past light-years behind—until the news of her brother Thad’s arrest and upcoming execution for treason. It’s a ploy by Sully’s cousin Hayden Burke to force them out of hiding and it works.
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With a killer targeting human females and a renegade gen lab breeding jukor war machines, Chaz and Sully already had their hands full of treachery, betrayal—not to mention each other. Throw in Chaz’s ex-husband, Admiral Philip Guthrie, and a Kyi-Ragkiril mentor out to seduce Sully and not just loyalties but lives are at stake. For when Sully makes a fateful choice changing their relationship forever, Chaz must also choose—between what duty demands and what her heart tells her she must do.
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Kimber asked- Wow! Sounds like more rip-roaring good fun! Is there anything else you want to share about DOWN HOME ZOMBIE BLUES?
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Linnea replied- Well, if readers buy it RIGHT NOW they can be reading the action as if it was happening in real time. The story starts mid-December and involves the December holiday season (though it’s NOT a “Christmas story” by any means). So you could be reading what Theo and Jorie are doing on the day before Christmas, actually ON the day before Christmas. I think that’s kind of fun.
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Linnea Sinclairhttp://www.linneasinclair.com/ -- www.myspace.com/linneasinclairRITA(c) Award Winning SF Romance from Bantam Spectra2005: FINDERS KEEPERS, GABRIEL'S GHOST, AN ACCIDENTAL GODDESSComing 2007-08: GAMES OF COMMAND, THE DOWN HOME ZOMBIE BLUES, SHADES OF DARK
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Speaking of rip-roaring good fun, I really must go finish putting together the party. Linnea will give away a prize in the drawing Friday night. If you want to enter, just make sure to comment and that your username is linked to same way for me to contact you.
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"All right! Who let Junior have coffee?"

P.S. Please be respectful of my younger friends at the party. Thank you.
;)

LOTTERY Cyber-Launch Party!

***8/3 Update: Pop over to Pat's blog for some wonderful pictures of her debut day!***

Well, I’m sitting hear listening to Weird Al sing, ‘eBay.’ Remember way back when the Arc (Advanced Reader’s Copy) for LOTTERY came out and a bunch ended up being hawked on eBay? Remember laughing our heads off, following the bidding war? Oh, that was such fun! In my little universe, this is Patricia Wood’s theme song.

The glorious day has arrived. As I predicted, Pat didn’t get much sleep last night. That’s okay. Today will probably fly by in a blur. I hope her husband and the other people with her in Real Life remember to take lots of pictures! Pat’s been working hard a long time for this. A lot of us have been along for the ride. She won us over with the power of her personality alone. In the age of the Internet, that’s truly an amazing thing.

Pat didn’t have much time to answer interview questions this week and that’s okay. I’ve been Blog Buddies with her long enough to know all I need to know for this. In fact, I’ve known Pat long enough to know stuff I WON’T tell you even if you threatened to take away my chocolate and never let me sew again. So, I’ll just reprint the front page of her website and we’ll get on with the party.
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LOTTERY
A funny, poignant, and wise novel about a very rich underdog who shows everyone just how little his IQ says about his smarts.
Redbook magazine says LOTTERY "... tickles your funnybone, tugs your heartstrings, and redefines the word 'fortunate' all at once."
Good Housekeeping calls LOTTERY "... irresistible ..."
Perry’s IQ is only 76, but he’s not stupid. His grandmother taught him everything he needs to know to survive: She taught him to write things down so he won’t forget them. She taught him to play the lottery every week. And, most important, she taught him whom to trust. When Gram dies, Perry is left orphaned and bereft at the age of thirty-one. Then his weekly Washington State Lottery ticket wins him 12 million dollars, and he finds he has more family than he knows what to do with. Peopled with characters both wicked and heroic who leap off the pages, Lottery is a deeply satisfying, gorgeously rendered novel about trust, loyalty, and what distinguishes us as capable.

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Patricia Wood is a Ph.D. student at the University of Hawaii, focusing on education, disability, and diversity. Lottery is inspired by her work, as well as a number of events in her life, including her father winning the Washington State Lottery. She lives with her husband aboard a sailboat moored in Ko`Olina, Hawaii. This is her first novel.
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Pat is giving away a t-shirt, pen, and floatie for the drawing. If you leave a comment and your username leads to some kind of contact information, your name will be entered to win. Now, on with the party! This time, I swear, it's going to be a professionally coordinated affair.

;)

P.S. Perry L. Crandell is the guest blogger at Pat's blog today. You might want to check it out. http://pkwood.blogspot.com/

CYBER-LAUNCH BOOK PARTY!!!

The glorious day has arrived, Blog Buddies! This is the Cyber-Launch Book Party for Michelle Moran's debut novel, NEFERTITI, which I was lucky enough to get an ARC of. Remember my review of it? It was the May 16th entry on this blog, if you want to go check it out. NEFERTITI hits the bookshelves this coming Tuesday, July 10th. However, if you participate in the party by leaving a comment for this blog entry, you will have the chance to win a gold-wrapped and autographed copy! The drawing will be held at the end of the party tomorrow night. Here's the important thing: Your comment must have your username which will lead me to info about how to contact you, whether through your blog, an email, or whatever. Otherwise, I can't enter you in the drawing. The other prize is a gold Nefertiti charm!

Now, read the interview. When you're finished, click on 'comments' at the bottom and you will be taken to my party room where the natural laws of time and space do not apply. Watch your step though. The mummies don't get out much, so they're a little rowdy.

I emailed some questions to Michelle and she was kind enough to send these answers back:

1) Can you share the journey you took in creating NEFERTITI? What first
inspired you?
The inspiration to write Nefertiti inadvertently happened while I was on an archaeological dig in Israel. During my sophomore year in college, I found myself sitting in Anthropology 101, and when the professor mentioned that she was looking for volunteers who would like to join a dig in Israel, I was one of the first students to sign up. When I got to Israel, however, all of my archaeological dreams were dashed (probably because they centered around Indiana Jones). There were no fedora wearing men, no cities carved into rock, and certainly no Ark of the Covenant. I was very disappointed. Not only would a fedora have seemed out of place, but I couldn’t even use the tiny brushes I had packed. Apparently, archaeology is more about digging big ditches with pickaxes rather than dusting off artifacts. And it had never occurred to me until then that in order to get to those artifacts, one had to dig deep into the earth. Volunteering on an archaeological dig was hot, it was sweaty, it was incredibly dirty, and when I look back on the experience through the rose-tinged glasses of time, I think, Wow, was it fantastic! Especially when our team discovered an Egyptian scarab that proved the ancient Israelites had once traded with the Egyptians. Looking at that scarab in the dirt, I began to wonder who had owned it, and what had possessed them to undertake the long journey from their homeland to the fledgling country of Israel.

On my flight back to America I stopped in Berlin, and with a newfound appreciation for Egyptology, I visited the museum where Nefertiti’s limestone bust was being housed. The graceful curve of Nefertiti’s neck, her arched brows, and the faintest hint of a smile were captivating to me. Who was this woman with her self-possessed gaze and stunning features? I wanted to know more about Nefertiti’s story, but when I began the research into her life, it proved incredibly difficult. She’d been a woman who’d inspired powerful emotions when she lived over three thousand years ago, and those who had despised her had attempted to erase her name from history. Yet even in the face of such ancient vengeance, some clues remained.

As a young girl Nefertiti had married a Pharaoh who was determined to erase the gods of Egypt and replace them with a sun-god he called Aten. It seemed that Nefertiti’s family allowed her to marry this impetuous king in the hopes that she would tame his wild ambitions. What happened instead, however, was that Nefertiti joined him in building his own capital of Amarna where they ruled together as god and goddess. But the alluring Nefertiti had a sister who seemed to keep her grounded, and in an image of her found in Amarna, the sister is standing off to one side, her arms down while everyone else is enthusiastically praising the royal couple. From this image, and a wealth of other evidence, I tried to recreate the epic life of an Egyptian queen whose husband was to become known as the Heretic King.

Writing the novel took years of research. I wanted to be sure that when I wrote Nefertiti I was extremely accurate, down to the color of the palace tiles and shape of the women’s beads. At the same time, however, I wanted to be careful not to weigh the story down in too much detail. There needed to be the same sense of urgency, danger, and passion as filled Nefertiti’s world.

2) Some of our guests are writers. Can you share your process for
taking a story from rough draft to submission-ready manuscript? What's your
best advice on how they can improve the craft of writing to meet publication
standards?
Nefertiti isn’t my first novel. In fact, it’s not even my second. The process of submitting a manuscript, finding an agent, then reaching publication didn’t happen overnight for me. Actually, it took fifteen years. My first attempt at getting published was in seventh grade, when I was twelve. I had written a full length book that was certainly pathetic but everyone praised it and my father hailed it as the next Great American Novel. My father was very good at ego-boosting. But no one knew how to go about getting published, so I went to my local Barnes and Nobles and asked them how. And instead of laughing, the bookseller took me to the writing section and I purchased the current edition of Writer's Market. From then on, no agent or publishing house was safe. I learned how to write query letters and regaled them all. And some of them sent personal letters back too, probably because I had included my age in the query letter and they either thought a) this kid has potential or b) this is sad and deserves at least a kind note.

Then, after going on an archaeological dig in my second year of college, I changed my genre from literary to historical fiction and found my calling. That summer I wrote a novel called Jezebel, and signed on with a prominent agent. His foreign rights department sold it successfully to Bertelsmann in Germany, and I had my first publishing credit with the company that owns Random House. But my agent in NY had a difficult time selling the novel, and when it was clear that he had done what he could for Jezebel and that there would be no sale in the US, I saw the writing on the wall. I would have to write another book.

So I began my research, and over the next few years I came to a slow and eye-opening realization. No mater how many times or how nicely I wrote, my agent never answered my emails. Even after I had finished the book on the subject that he’d suggested, he never took my phone calls. Did this mean I didn’t have an agent? Had I been dumped because Jezebel hadn’t sold? Did agents do that without telling their clients? Apparently, he did, and apparently, some do. So I took the high road and wrote a letter thanking him for what he had done for me (he did get my foot in the door), and I asked to be released from our contract. I sent the letter by certified mail and promptly never heard from him again.

But publishing isn’t personal, and neither is rejection, so I began sending query letters out the next month, mentioning that my agent and I had recently parted ways and that I was searching for new representation. It was a matter of weeks before I had a new agent, the wonderful Anna Ghosh at Scovil Chichak Galen, and she took on the task of submitting the novel that my precious agent had suggested I write. But my heart hadn’t been in the book. It was set in the 20th century, and my specialty – what I studied in college and what I’ve since become an amateur historian on – is ancient Egypt and the Middle Ages. We had quite a few near misses with the novel, where editors wanted to purchase the book but were told no by the acquisitions committee, since all sales have to be approved by a committee. After Anna sent the novel to all the major houses, I began to panic that I’d be dropped as a client for a second time, and that is when I started Nefertiti, a project I was extremely passionate about. Anna waited for two years while I wrote the book, and eventually she sold the book and its stand-alone sequel for six-figures to Crown. After that, her foreign rights agent Danny Baror (who happened to be the same foreign rights agent who sold Jezebel) sold Nefertiti and The Heretic Queen to more than fifteen countries.

I do believe there is a moral to this story, which is to be persistent and not to be afraid of starting a new project. I have thirteen books that I’ve written, and just because they’re not published doesn’t mean I didn’t learn from them, or that I can’t publish them in the future (although I probably won’t). I think what aspiring writers need to understand is that if something isn’t right for the current market, that doesn’t mean they should simply give up. With each book you’ll get better as a writer, and eventually you will strike gold!

3) What experience do you hope readers will take away from reading
NEFERTITI?
I hope that readers will come away having felt as if they’d spent time in the ancient Egypt of 1350 BC. Nefertiti was the step-mother of Tut, the wife of the Heretic King Akhenaten, and a precursor to Ramesses the Great. She lived during a time of great wealth and power for Egyptian Pharaohs, and I believe that her story is one of the most fascinating ever to have come out of Egypt.

4) Can you tell us a little bit about your next novel? What's the
title? When is it due out?
Currently, I’m finishing the stand-alone sequel to Nefertiti. It will be in bookstores July 2008 and will probably be titled The Heretic Queen. It follows the destiny of Mutny’s daughter, Nefertari, and traces her transformation from a wild palace child to the strikingly beautiful and intelligent queen of Ramesses II.

Very cool, Michelle! Can't wait. (((Kimber hears the mummies chanting, 'Party! Party! Party!' again.))) Gotta go!

CYBER-LAUNCH BOOK PARTY!!!

Welcome to the Cyber-Launch Book Party for Lisa Shearin's debut novel, MAGIC LOST, TROUBLE FOUND. I hope you've all sharpened your elven blades and put on your steel-tipped party boots. To kick off the party, I'll run a previously recorded interview with the esteemed author.

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Kimber Asked: Can you share the journey you took in creating MAGIC LOST, TROUBLEFOUND? What first inspired you? Did it flesh out right away or did thedetails come later? How did the characters reveal themselves to you?
:o)
Let’s see if I can remember that far back. What eventually became MLTF started in my college days as a result of wanting something to read, but not being able to find anything in the bookstore that I thought I’d like. My roommate got tired of my complaining and said, “Why don’t you just write something yourself?”

So I did.

And it sucked.

But I kept going. I finished that one and wrote another book, a sequel to the first one. It sucked only marginally less, which meant (at least in my own mind) that I was getting better. Hmmm, maybe being delusional is a big part of finally getting published.

Those two books formed the base for what eventually became MLTF. Raine, Mychael, Chigaru and Phaelan were in those first two books (though vastly different than they are now). Piaras didn’t come into being until I was on the second draft of MLTF. (What can I say, the kid’s a late bloomer.) Piaras was just supposed to be a “fetch & carry” character—there for window dressing, maybe say a line or two, etc. Then in the scene around Chapter 6, when Raine comes home and is talking to Tarsilia, and Piaras goes to open the shop. . .suddenly one day when I’m working on that scene, Raine hears Piaras singing from the next room. The kid had a magnificent voice. That got Raine’s attention (and mine). A few days (or maybe weeks) later, when I was writing the scene where Raine is meeting Ocnus Rancil close to The Ruins. . .suddenly Piaras is there getting himself yanked into a dark alley. What the hell?? I’ve since learned that if a character gets yanked into an alley or thrown out of a bar, that character is worth paying attention to.

Kimber An asked: Some of our guests are writers. Can you share your process fortaking a story from rough draft to submission-ready manuscript? What's yourbest advice on how they can improve the craft of writing to meet publication standards?
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For me, the first draft is for getting the story down, the second draft is for filling in the blanks, third draft is for buffing, polishing and making it pretty. Though most of the time there ends up being five drafts—each one adding more detail and texture to the one before. Later drafts are the real fun. Then I basically keep doing it until my gut tells me I’ve finally got it right. Between drafts, I like to let it sit and simmer for a week or two, then when I come back to it, it’s fresh to me, and more details reveal themselves. That’s the annoying part for me. I’m ultra-organized and methodical. My writing brain apparently is not. When I was doing the final draft of MLTF (Book 1), the first two pages for Book 4 came at me out of left field. Boom. There they were. So I stop and write them down. I’ve got notebooks full of scenes and dialogue that come to me like that. I write them down, knowing that somehow they’ll fit into a story somewhere at some time. My brain doles out ideas like puzzle pieces. It’s up to me to figure out where they go. Frustrating as hell, yet fun at the same time.


Kimber An asked: What experience do you hope readers will take away from reading MAGICLOST, TROUBLE FOUND?
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I hope they have fun. That’s all. Just fun. There’s too much depressing crap going on in the world to have to put up with that in a book. I just want to give my readers a couple of days or hours (some of you have plowed right through it), of pure escapist fun. I cut my fantasy-writing teeth on David Eddings, Raymond Feist and Terry Brooks. I LOVED their characters. These were people you wanted to hang out with, and couldn’t wait to visit again in the next book. I’ve had people tell me they felt that way about the characters in MLTF. That is the highest praise anyone could give me. That’s my purpose right there.

Kimber An asked: Can you tell us a little bit about your next novel, ARMED ANDMAGICAL? When is it due out?
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Armed & Magical is due out in May of next year. It picks up a couple of days after MLTF ends. Needless to say, Raine isn’t going to catch up on her sleep anytime soon. Let's see. . .by the end of page three, Raine's already got big problems—an assassination attempt on the archmagus, an encounter with an enemy from her past, and an entirely too public display of her Saghred-enhanced powers. Later. . .Tam has not one, but two, deep dark secrets from his past that he'd rather keep buried. (Of course they don’t stay that way.) Piaras is now a Conclave college student studying spellsinging, and that voice of his attracts way too much of the wrong kind of attention. Mychael has his hands full with Raine, and with trying to keep her from falling prey to the darkest side of the Saghred. Let the fun continue!
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Thank you for sharing all that, Lisa! To read my review of MAGIC LOST, TROUBLE FOUND, just scroll down this page to June 19th's column. The party will run through tomorrow night, at which time a drawing will be held of all the people who leave comments to this entry. Winner gets a signed copy of the book! Now, let the festivities begin!

WARNING: The normal laws of space and time do not apply to the Party Room. Watch your step!

SECOND WARNING: I write Young Adult, as well as Adult fiction. Please be respectful of my younger friends. Thank you!