Vicki Pettersson's Blog, page 8

Time management, UF reads, & awesome Readers.

It’s my downtime, work-wise, which means that while I’m still writing, I’m not interviewing or promoting or traveling for signings. It means I can get into a routine with my work and family, and hunker down and go dormant for a bit. I love people, but where I really get my energy – where my introversion makes itself known – is from being alone in my head, and right now I’m doing a lot of that.

Plotting is messy, physical work.

I don’t know if any of you are like this, but I have a weird relationship with Time, a strange commodity that always seems to be either lacking or overly abundant. I have the luxury of playing with time in my own life right now, reshaping it by doing different activities – and that includes going cold turkey on the Internet. (I know, I’m seriously missing the endorphin rush.)

But I’m a bit of an addict, and usually when I have a bit of free time I search out my social security blankets – Facebook and Twitter – and tap into the hivemind. Not lately, though. I tap my email, read a truncated version of the Times, and then I focus on everything that’s in 3-D. I’m working on not multi-tasking, either. I deliberately leave my phone in the car or at home when I’m out so that I experience the world in the present. I’m moderately grossed out by how my mind twists every thing, from small to large, into a digestible tweet for … who? And why? (I mean, just eat the goddamned food, Vic. You don’t have to take a picture of it!)

Anyway, that was a major digression on the way to saying that I’ve also freed up a ton of time for reading (which I’m not posting on Goodreads because 1) that’s the Internet, and 2) I only ever post 5-star reviews there. As an author I find it impossible to swing at other authors, even if it’s to say “I like this book, but didn’t love it.” I just can’t do it. So how telling are the reviews, then? Not so much.

But the real point of this post is this: there is a bounty of Urban Fantasy reads out there right now, and I wanted to make you all aware of them if you weren’t already. Perhaps you can grab one of these and unplug a bit, too.

First up, just released yesterday, is Jocelynn Drake’s brand new series, ANGEL’S INK. I know Jocelynn, and we share an editor, but I know nothing about this book except that she’s created an entirely new, vibrant, and fully realized world. Good world building is kinda why I read Urban Fantasy so this is next up on my TBR list. I also know it’s been a long time coming for this series, so I’m excited for Jocelynn and hope the series does well. Skip a latte this week and buy the book instead. My guess is you’ll get hours of entertainment and an addition to your keeper shelf.

 

I got on a thriller kick and am behind on my UF reading, but have you read INTO THE WOODS yet? It’s Kim Harrison’s first compilation of short stories from the world of the Hollows, which I’ve been devouring since DEAD WITCH WALKING. She has some extras in there, too, and I know she’s ending the series in only two more books, so I’m grabbing what I can now, and savoring it all.

 

Richard Kadrey, DEVIL SAID BANG. Kinda the most original voice and mind to hit me, regardless of genre, for years. Dennis Lehane did it in crime, Diana Gabaldon did it in historical fiction, and Kadrey is the one who twists my mind in new wonderful ways in fantasy. If you haven’t started his SANDMAN SLIM series, I feel sorry for you. Or happy, because you now have four darkly delicious books to read.

That’s everything on my radar right now. I read two new crime books – DARE ME, by Megan Abbott, and GONE GIRL by Gillian Flynn – and can unequivocally recommend those, but if there’s something in UF that you love and you think I would too, please let me know! I do still respond to every message from my readers, either on my contact page, Facebook, or Twitter, but I’m doing so in contained hours, so “regularly” checking them means on the weekends, not every day.

Speaking of readers, I received this in my P.O. Box yesterday:

It’s from my Facebook friend, Kelly (and, yes, Kelly, I have total recall of that conversation a year ago – I can’t believe you remembered!). Now my yearly candy corn binge can be satisfied with a smile on my face (if extra miles on my daily run, you b*tch! ). Thank you so much! I’m keeping these labels forever.

I swear, this (not the candy, but the kindness) is the only reason I don’t blow off social networking altogether. I love my readers, and you enrich my life daily. I can’t count the kindnesses shown to me by people I know only by name and avatar. So even though I’m reshaping my life by reclaiming my time, please know that there will always be room in it for you.

 

INTO THE WOODS … go now!

I can’t even think the words Urban Fantasy without thinking Kim Harrison … and that’s saying a lot because I should probably first think “Vicki Pettersson” don’tcha think? But Kim is one of the biggest and best in the genre, and she was both an inspiration and an unwitting mentor to me when I was writing it, too. She’s also simply damned good.

Now, for the first time, the world of The Hollows gets the short story treatment, and INTO THE WOODS is a must-have read for those who, like me, have spent so many years with Rachel Morgan & Co. I’m also excited because there are three non-Hollows related shorts in the collection, and it’s always fun to see what a favorite author can do when flexing her muscles in another world.

INTO THE WOODS is available today, so link up to your favorite bookseller and grab it. Also, Kim will be appearing the weekend at New York Comic-Con, and signing copies there, so if you’re in the NY area, it’s a good chance to get a first edition signed by the author. She’ll be appearing on panels with a few other authors I love, but I’ll post more about them later this week. I’m planning a post on what I’ve been reading/loving, and what I’m looking forward to next. Kim, as always, makes the short list.

‘The Taken’ Wallpaper

Ya’ll saw this, right?

Various sized wallpaper — all FREE here!

BLOOD RIDERS winners!

Fantastic comments on the UF mash-ups – both those you loved and those you’d like to see – and I’m please to announce the five winners who will receive a Kindle e-book (you *must* have a Kindle) of BLOOD RIDERS:

Donald Emery

Autumn

Willow P.

Rebekah Demoret

Traci Cole

Please privately email your addresses to: vickipetterssonbooks (at) gmail (dot) com so that the book can be delivered to you on release day. Then look for it in your inbox/downloads on September 25th – how easy was that? And let me know how you enjoy the read!

And I have to give one more shout out to Mike Spradlin for writing one hell of a book, and then giving my readers a chance to see it – thanks, Mike!

 

Mike & Me, part Two!

Okay, so the blog title is misleading – I have nothing to do with this post. I just liked the alliteration. But here’s part two of my interview with Mike Spradlin, the author of the upcoming BLOOD RIDERS, which is a sort of Old West/Vampire mash-up — and certainly something I haven’t seen before. Remember, comment at the end of this post, or yesterday’s, to possibly win one of five Kindle editions of BLOOD RIDERS on release day, September 25th!

 

You’ve Written A Number Of Children’s Books. What Is Different About Writing For Adults?

 

Your characters get to cuss more. And they can partake in certain activities you can’t really show in a kid’s book. In reality though, its not that much different. You still have to write an entertaining story. The elements that make up a good book don’t really change based on the age of the reader. And what’s really gratifying is that I’ve had a lot of adults read and enjoy my Youngest Templar series for example. Young people who were 14 or 15 when Youngest Templar: Keeper Of The Grail came out in 2008 are old enough to read Blood Riders now. Writing for both audiences also gives you a chance to reach more readers. Which is all any writer wants, for people to read and enjoy their book. And then recommend it to 10,000 of their closest friends.

 

Blood Riders, As Well As Most Of Your Children’s Books, Are Action-Adventure Stories Where The Action Is Unrelenting. Is This Intentional On Your Part?

 

I think most writers try to write the kind of book we like to read ourselves. I like action and explosions and narrow escapes and all of those things. My characters don’t spend a lot of time standing around talking about their feelings. Not that they never do, it’s just I tend to focus on moving the story forward by my characters doing things. Usually they are a small band of spunky misfits who must come together to solve a problem much bigger than they could ever solve alone.

 

What Are You Working On Next

 

I have two children’s series under contract. I’m co-writing Book 4 in the I,Q series with author Roland Smith. It’s an action adventure novel about a stepbrother and sister who unintentionally get involved in some international intrigue. It’s called I,Q: The Alamo and will be out in spring 2013. The other is a series from Scholastic called Killer Species. It’s about mutant animals. The first book Killer Species: Menace From The Deep will be out in summer 2013.

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Will There Be Another Blood Riders Novel?

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I hope so. I love the characters and have a ton of ideas. But it will depend on the readers. It’s readers buying, reading and recommending the book that makes authors successful. There is nothing like word of mouth to get more people to read a book. When more people read the book, the publisher signs up more books. It’s a win-win. I’m not above begging and groveling in asking everyone to give it a try. Seriously, email me and I will come to your house with a small bag of potting soil and grovel in the dirt at your feet if you will buy and read Blood Riders. I think it will be a fun ride!

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Okay, Mike has generously offered to give away 5 Amazon Kindle e-books to my readers. To win an kindle download of BLOOD RIDERS, all you have to do is comment on today’s post – or yesterday’s – and let us know what your favorite genre mash-up has been thus far. Or you can also let us know what you’d like to see that hasn’t been done yet. What’s your dream mashup? What would you love to read?

I will personally send all winners their downloads of BLOOD RIDERS on September 25th, the day of release. Good luck and happy reading!

Introducing … Mike Spradlin!

I read widely and voraciously, though I have to admit I don’t always read in the Urban Fantasy genre. Part of that is because I don’t want to be unduly influenced by what other writers are doing, and part of it is … well, much of the offerings in the past couple of years have been more of the same. I’m jonesing for something new.

I also love mash-ups and some good, old-fashioned worldbuilding. Take me away when I’m reading. Let me travel not only to some place I’ve never been, but some place I’ve never even dreamed existed. That’s why I was chuffed to see this:

BLOOD RIDERS. Are you kidding me? The Wild West + Vamps?

Yes and please and gimme more, more, more. I actually tried to do my own version of the Wild West in the Zodiac series via Midheaven — the saloon, the saloon girls, the (soul) poker, Mackie the piano player (named after Mack the Knife; that’s your Zodiac trivia for the day). Anyway, I digress. I love Westerns (“I’m your huckleberry” — anyone, Bueller, anyone?) and I love fantasy, and I thought I can’t be alone in this. So I thought I’d share BLOOD RIDERS with all of you. Allow me to introduce Mike Spradlin, the author of BLOOD RIDERS.

Give Us Your ‘Elevator Pitch’ For BLOOD RIDERS.

 

Ok but first a couple of questions. How big is the building housing the elevator? Do I get to choose how many floors? I’m totally calling the Sears Tower!

Blood Riders is set in the 1880’s American West. Former Calvary Captain Jonas Hollister is rotting away in Leavenworth prison. His crime? Claiming his platoon was destroyed by a group of blood drinking demons. On a hot summer day, four years, later, famed detective Allan Pinkerton arrives with an offer. These demons are real and they are hunting and killing again. If Hollister is willing to hunt them down and kill them he will be pardoned, his name and rank restored.

Knowing what he is facing, Hollister joins forces with a fellow prisoner named Chee, Chee’s enormous dog, a mysterious woman with a hidden agenda and Monkey Pete the engineer of Pinkerton’s tricked out train. Following a trail that leads from the plains of Kansas to the high Rockies, Hollister tracks these creatures until…well you have to read it to find out what happens.

 

What Did You Draw Upon For Inspiration In Creating The Story?

 

I’ve always loved horror, fantasy, urban fantasy, prairie fantasy (I totally made that up), westerns, steampunk, science fiction, James Bond films, Star Trek and Winnie-the-Pooh. Blood Riders contains elements from all of those sources.

But seriously, the real idea came to me a couple of years ago from an article I read about human evolution. Which started me thinking about the evolution of monsters. If human beings evolved from Neanderthal to Cro-Magnon to Homo Sapiens what about monsters? Assume for a moment that monsters exist. Is the modern version of the vampire we accept that began with Bram Stoker’s Dracula something that has always been? Or did vampires evolve over time as well? Or werewolves? Did they adapt and change based on their environment. And I decided that if they did, then they’ve been around for a while and different from what we normally think of when we envision them. Then I thought it might be neat to set them against human beings in a less technological world. I picked my favorite era, the post Civil War American West, and plopped down some big ass vampire-zombie type things trying to wipe out mankind and a small but spunky band of misfits attempting to stop them. It was pretty simple really, mixing all these things together, kind of like baking cookies. And it always has to be a small but spunky band of misfits.

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Okay, so that should be enough to whet your appetite. I have more with Mike tomorrow, but for now he has generously offered to give away 5 Amazon Kindle e-books to my readers. To win an kindle download of BLOOD RIDERS, all you have to do is comment on today’s post – or tomorrow’s – and let us know what your favorite genre mash-up has been thus far. Or you can also let us know what you’d like to see that hasn’t been done yet. What’s your dream mashup? What would you love to read?

I will personally send all winners their downloads of BLOOD RIDERS on September 25th, the day of release. Good luck and happy reading!

No words necessary…

Coming March 2013

Doing the work.

A quick reminder — this is the last week that the first books in both of my series are on deep e-discount.

THE TAKEN, $2.99 – B&N and Amazon.

THE SCENT OF SHADOWS, $.99 - here.

After that, they’ll be $10 and $7, respectively. So, go.

Latest news: I received arguably the best review of my career from B&N’s Paul Goat Allen HERE. Read it in full to see why it put me on the verge of tears, but for now here’s a snippet:

Vicki Pettersson is well known in the genre fiction world as the author of the Signs of the Zodiac saga (The Scent of Shadows, The Taste of Night, The Touch of Twilight, et. al.) featuring otherworldly avenger Joanna Archer. But that’s about to change – in a big way.

Pettersson’s latest release, The Taken, is the first installment in a new series called Celestial Blues, a stunningly stylish storyline that blends together elements of noir fiction, urban fantasy, and romance. It’s not only Pettersson’s best work to date; it’s also a clear indicator to where urban fantasy is headed. With the Signs of the Zodiac series, Pettersson’s audience was essentially paranormal fantasy readers. The Taken, however, is much more mainstream – ie: appealing to fans of mystery, fantasy, romance and conventional fiction – and should find a much larger audience…

Bottom line: Vicki Pettersson can no longer be called an urban fantasy novelist. This novel transcends genre categorization – yes, paranormal fantasy readers will LOVE The Taken but so too will hardcore mystery and romance fans and, most importantly of all, mainstream fiction fans.

This is Vicki Pettersson’s coming out party – and we’re all invited.

See what I mean?

Just awesome.

Meanwhile, I’m finishing rewrites for the second book in the Celestial Blues trilogy, THE LOST – at least at the meta-level. The overarching supernatural thread needed to be addressed, and I’ve done that and it’s much stronger now. Messy, mind you, but I have something with which to work.

I’m also able to hunker down and marathon it this week, which is rare and a relief. I’ve learned that I don’t need a large block of time in which to write, and I’ve learned to be zen about embracing life’s natural chaos around me (comes with being a mother, I think) but it sure is nice when the big blocks of hours DO come, so I’m embracing them now.

Next up: the third act and climax. Visually, what I’ve done is the equivalent of brushing a woman’s hair, top to bottom. The roots and crown and midsection are smooth and shiny, but now I have to do something about these snarled ends.

Then another draft to fill holes.

Then another for line editing and tightening language.

Then formatting.

I’d like one more pass for language after that, but I don’t think I’ll have time on this draft. That’s okay, though. I’ll probably be brain-dead and cross-eyed. It’d be a situation of diminishing returns. I’ll see the book again for copyedits and page proofs, so I can address anything I missed then.

Off to do eet.

Oh, and since I’m in edit mode, below is an proofreading sheet containing symbols like the one my editor uses on me. You’re welcome.

Deadlining … it’s an action word.

I am home from New York and Thrillerfest, a trip with that odd quality of being both long and short, and am finally back in my routine – mommy shuffle, work out, write write write, mommy shuffle…

LOVE it.

However, I also have a deadline. THE LOST is due to my editor in 14 days. I have much work to do, and need to sink deep into the page to do it, so I’ll be mostly absent for the webs for the remainder of the month. But here are some promised links and great deals:

THE TAKEN – out just one month – has been reduced to $2.99 in e-format. You can get it at Barnes & Noble and Amazon, but that price will pass with my deadline, so don’t wait — and, please, tell your friends. They can read the book and buy themselves an additional frappa-something to enjoy with it.

THE SCENT OF SHADOWS is also temporarily $.99. Get it here. I actually re-read some of this yesterday on my way back to Vegas and had to smile. I remember writing it, struggling over some scenes, but it also felt far away — like a photo of an old high school friend. You remember them fondly, and wonder what happened to them. That’s how I feel about this book. But I was also amazed to see some questions posed right up front that were answered amazingly well (Ie. Kismet) years and five books later.

Anyway, I digress. Please share, retweet, or call your friends and let them know. Again, we resume our regular programming by month’s end.

Finally, I’ve one last appearance this year — though it’s more of a coffee klatch than anything else. Deborah Coonts will be interviewing me at the Paseo Verde library in Las Vegas this Friday, July 20. Noon.

I use the word “interview” loosely. We hung out together in the bar last week at Thrillerfest, so I expect it to be more like that – loose and informal, but informational and entertaining. If you like reading or writing, come pepper us with questions. We can take it.

I leave you with a photo of how I spent the majority of my Thrillerfest: photo-bombing other authors. (I know. SO professional.)

The inestimable Heather Graham. Trying to ignore me.

E-book Specials

I’m at LaGuardia, prepping to leave NY behind, and I’ll post later this week about Thrillerfest – it was amazing – but I wanted to let you all know here, on goodreads and on Facebook and Twitter about a completely unexpected and totally cool e-book special going on right now. The first books in EACH of my series are on serious e-discount.

THE TAKEN, just released last month, is temporarily selling for only $2.99 on B&N and Kindle. It’s a great chance to start this new series if you haven’t already, and it’ll revert back to normal price by the end of the month, so grab it now if you want it, and please spread the word/RT so your reader friends can do so too.

THE SCENT OF SHADOWS is currently only $.99 at the same e-retailers, so if you caught THE TAKEN, but haven’t read any of The Signs of the Zodiac series yet, it makes sense to grab it now. Please spread the word if you can…I’m going to go catch this flight so I can get home and start writing another for you.

Be well!