Richelle Mead's Blog, page 21
July 21, 2011
Succubus Revealed, Chapter 1!
I know, I know. It's crazy talk, huh? Especially after the last post had the first chapter of Bloodlines. But, hey, these books come out a week apart in August, so it makes sense their excerpts would come close together.
SR's first chapter is one of my favorite openings I've ever written. There's no sex or bad language in it either, so it's safe for work--unless your work place discourages drunken mall Santas or wine-in-a-box. Without further preamble...
Chapter 1 of Succubus Revealed
Hope you enjoy it! SR comes out on August 30 in the U.S., with later dates in other countries (Sept 15 in the UK, with Australia probably matching. Other countries aren't known yet because of translation delays). The shop section on my website has info about American places you can buy it, including major retailers and University Bookstore's autographed system.
Over in the world of Bloodlines, Penguin US/Australia/UK have begun a joint compaign of promo and teasers. Their YouTube channel features weekly video teasers, and their Facebook page also includes sneak-peeks at quotes. Note that the video teasers are just that: teasers. They're meant to be fun, and the actors cast are there for fun too and aren't associated with any movie project. So, just roll with it if they don't meet your character images, and have fun trying to figure out the book's secrets. :)
SR's first chapter is one of my favorite openings I've ever written. There's no sex or bad language in it either, so it's safe for work--unless your work place discourages drunken mall Santas or wine-in-a-box. Without further preamble...Chapter 1 of Succubus Revealed
Hope you enjoy it! SR comes out on August 30 in the U.S., with later dates in other countries (Sept 15 in the UK, with Australia probably matching. Other countries aren't known yet because of translation delays). The shop section on my website has info about American places you can buy it, including major retailers and University Bookstore's autographed system.
Over in the world of Bloodlines, Penguin US/Australia/UK have begun a joint compaign of promo and teasers. Their YouTube channel features weekly video teasers, and their Facebook page also includes sneak-peeks at quotes. Note that the video teasers are just that: teasers. They're meant to be fun, and the actors cast are there for fun too and aren't associated with any movie project. So, just roll with it if they don't meet your character images, and have fun trying to figure out the book's secrets. :)
July 15, 2011
Bloodlines, Chapter 1!
Need I say more? You can read the first chapter of Bloodlines over here, at MTV.com.
You'll find other info about Bloodlines here at the Q&A I did a little while ago.
Enjoy!
You'll find other info about Bloodlines here at the Q&A I did a little while ago.
Enjoy!
July 10, 2011
Richelle, what will you do now?
Don't worry--despite the title, this isn't another Q&A with myself. A lot of people have been asking what I'm going to do with adult books now that the Georgina and Eugenie series are winding down. Georgina's last book, Succubus Revealed, will be out August 30. Eugenie's last book, Shadow Heir, (which is literally days from being finished), will be out in January 2012. Those keeping score have noticed that this not only leaves me with one series to work on but also only young adult stuff to work on. That brings us back to the big question: will I be working on any other adult books?
The short answer is yes--but let's back up first. Georgina and Eugenie are ending for a couple of reasons. Just like with Vampire Academy, I had those series planned out from the beginning and we're reaching their natural finishes. I'm not a fan of pushing a series into the ground and ending up with bad books. The other part of this is that I've had a pretty stressful writing schedule for the last four years. Writing three series was an awesome idea starting out because authors aren't guaranteed fame and fortune, and it's best to hedge your bets. Also, first books in new series can take a long time for publishers to put out. Succubus Blues took 1.5 years, VA 1 year, and Dark Swan 2 years! So it seems like you have all the time in the world initially. Once you fall into the rhythm of publishing, the time between when books are due shrinks. That's when things get crazy. By the end of this year, I'll have written 18 books in six years. Like I said: crazy.
So, this is definitely a good time to de-stress my schedule since there's a baby on the way. Trying to write three series with a baby means I'd end up with crap books for you and shoddy parenting for my child. I don't want any of that. Eugenie's series could have probably been extended to five books, but I didn't want to risk #4 coming out in January and then have something unexpected with the baby happen that might mean a 2-year gap for #5. So, Shadow Heir is actually a huge book that covers the material I would have put into two books and means you can have it all sooner.
Back to future adult books. I've often said there aren't many differences between adult and young adult books. And there aren't. But there are still some differences, and that's what makes writing for both age groups fun. I don't want to give up on adult books, and I actually have some ideas for a new series, which I'm kind of excited about. It won't be a spin-off to Eugenie or Georgina. I could come back to them someday, but we'd be talking years. The trick now is figuring out when I want to do my next adult book. No question: the baby will be my #1 priority in all things now. I don't want to promise a publisher a new exciting adult book I can't deliver nor do I want to start you guys on a new series and then leave you hanging. I won't have a lot of answers until the baby's here and I can see what life is like with him around. For all I know, the Bloodlines series alone will be overwhelming. Or I may be like, "Hey, let's start four more new series!" Okay, probably not that last one. A flexible schedule also means I can tour and keep up with fans in Internetland.
So, hang in there, fans of my adult stuff. I'm not trading it for picture books! :) I just want to be smart about the way I go about it. In a perfect world, it'd be great to kick of a new adult series late in 2012. But again, I can't assume anything. I'll definitely keep you posted on the fate of my adult books and let you know the news when I hear it. For now, I hope you'll enjoy Succubus Revealed and Shadow Heir when they come out and feel that they're the "right" ends to my girls' stories. SR's first chapter will go up at the end of this month, and maybe--just maybe--we'll do a contest for some SR advanced copies to celebrate SH's completion! Woo-hoo!
The short answer is yes--but let's back up first. Georgina and Eugenie are ending for a couple of reasons. Just like with Vampire Academy, I had those series planned out from the beginning and we're reaching their natural finishes. I'm not a fan of pushing a series into the ground and ending up with bad books. The other part of this is that I've had a pretty stressful writing schedule for the last four years. Writing three series was an awesome idea starting out because authors aren't guaranteed fame and fortune, and it's best to hedge your bets. Also, first books in new series can take a long time for publishers to put out. Succubus Blues took 1.5 years, VA 1 year, and Dark Swan 2 years! So it seems like you have all the time in the world initially. Once you fall into the rhythm of publishing, the time between when books are due shrinks. That's when things get crazy. By the end of this year, I'll have written 18 books in six years. Like I said: crazy.
So, this is definitely a good time to de-stress my schedule since there's a baby on the way. Trying to write three series with a baby means I'd end up with crap books for you and shoddy parenting for my child. I don't want any of that. Eugenie's series could have probably been extended to five books, but I didn't want to risk #4 coming out in January and then have something unexpected with the baby happen that might mean a 2-year gap for #5. So, Shadow Heir is actually a huge book that covers the material I would have put into two books and means you can have it all sooner.
Back to future adult books. I've often said there aren't many differences between adult and young adult books. And there aren't. But there are still some differences, and that's what makes writing for both age groups fun. I don't want to give up on adult books, and I actually have some ideas for a new series, which I'm kind of excited about. It won't be a spin-off to Eugenie or Georgina. I could come back to them someday, but we'd be talking years. The trick now is figuring out when I want to do my next adult book. No question: the baby will be my #1 priority in all things now. I don't want to promise a publisher a new exciting adult book I can't deliver nor do I want to start you guys on a new series and then leave you hanging. I won't have a lot of answers until the baby's here and I can see what life is like with him around. For all I know, the Bloodlines series alone will be overwhelming. Or I may be like, "Hey, let's start four more new series!" Okay, probably not that last one. A flexible schedule also means I can tour and keep up with fans in Internetland.
So, hang in there, fans of my adult stuff. I'm not trading it for picture books! :) I just want to be smart about the way I go about it. In a perfect world, it'd be great to kick of a new adult series late in 2012. But again, I can't assume anything. I'll definitely keep you posted on the fate of my adult books and let you know the news when I hear it. For now, I hope you'll enjoy Succubus Revealed and Shadow Heir when they come out and feel that they're the "right" ends to my girls' stories. SR's first chapter will go up at the end of this month, and maybe--just maybe--we'll do a contest for some SR advanced copies to celebrate SH's completion! Woo-hoo!
July 8, 2011
The Golden Lily cover
Didn't I promise exciting things this summer? Following on the heels of the Shadow Heir description, here's some more cool coming attractions stuff in the world of Richelle Mead--the cover for The Golden Lily, book #2 of the Bloodlines series:
Small tweaking may always occur before a book is in print, but this is pretty much 95% of what the final will be. Cool, eh? Jill gets center stage on this one, with Sydney doing her analytic observer thing. :)
The Golden Lily comes out in May 2012. I know it seems crazy to have this book cover out before Bloodlines is even released, but as I've often said, publishing is always running way ahead of what people realize. There's lots to do to prep for a book! Almost every day, I get someone asking, "Are there more VA books?" or "Wait, what's Bloodlines?" So, if you still haven't heard the scoop on the new series (coming August 23), then perhaps the Q&A I did with myself will clear things up. And as I said yesterday, the newly launched Official Bloodlines Global Page on Facebook is also a great place for updates.
Hope you enjoy!
Small tweaking may always occur before a book is in print, but this is pretty much 95% of what the final will be. Cool, eh? Jill gets center stage on this one, with Sydney doing her analytic observer thing. :)
The Golden Lily comes out in May 2012. I know it seems crazy to have this book cover out before Bloodlines is even released, but as I've often said, publishing is always running way ahead of what people realize. There's lots to do to prep for a book! Almost every day, I get someone asking, "Are there more VA books?" or "Wait, what's Bloodlines?" So, if you still haven't heard the scoop on the new series (coming August 23), then perhaps the Q&A I did with myself will clear things up. And as I said yesterday, the newly launched Official Bloodlines Global Page on Facebook is also a great place for updates.
Hope you enjoy!
July 7, 2011
News type stuff
I haven't done a really good post in a while where I expound on some crazy topic, like my neighbors or cat behavior. I also keep meaning to do some posts about writing and craft. But in the meantime, all sorts of news and info keep popping up. So, we'll use today as another chance to round up what's going on.
* Remember when Penguin Australia was filming me for three days? Here's the first fruit of their labor: an epic 12-minute bio video about me. I talk about all sorts of random topics in the life of Richelle Mead! They also filmed tons of stuff where I talk about VA and Bloodlines, and those videos will trickle out in the near future. I'll keep you updated, or you can subscribe on that YouTube link.
* In other video news that you may have missed on FB and Twitter, this link has two videos of me. The first one has me and some other authors talking about writing. The last one has me talking about Succubus Revealed and some things to expect from it. Good times!
* Going back to Bloodlines, the three Penguins--US, UK, and Australia--have united in an awesome triumvirate of promo power. They've launched The Official Bloodlines Global Page on Facebook, which will have lots of updates about the series. I'll post a lot of those same updates, but it's always good to follow and check in with these other sources since I can be slow sometimes.
* Lastly, for patient Eugenie followers, University Bookstore just received its shipment of the second issue of the Storm Born comic. It's frustrating to me and U Books that once again, the shipment was sent late to them. This is kind of why comics aren't often carried in regular bookstores. Comic book store seem to get theirs exactly by release day. Of course, U Books gives you the convenience of autographs and having it mailed to you...so it's a toss-up if you want to order online or just go to a local comic book store. Regardless, for those who did order autographed ones, we appreciate everyone's patience! U Books is currently prepping them to mail to their owners, and then I'll come in and sign so that we can get these off ASAP.
* Finally, this has been a hot week for releases for a lot of my adult urban fantasy pals. If you're fans of the genre (and I assume you are!), then check out Carolyn Crane's round-up of what's new and exciting this week.
Okay, that's the scoop for now! Back to Shadow Heir for me...
* Remember when Penguin Australia was filming me for three days? Here's the first fruit of their labor: an epic 12-minute bio video about me. I talk about all sorts of random topics in the life of Richelle Mead! They also filmed tons of stuff where I talk about VA and Bloodlines, and those videos will trickle out in the near future. I'll keep you updated, or you can subscribe on that YouTube link.
* In other video news that you may have missed on FB and Twitter, this link has two videos of me. The first one has me and some other authors talking about writing. The last one has me talking about Succubus Revealed and some things to expect from it. Good times!
* Going back to Bloodlines, the three Penguins--US, UK, and Australia--have united in an awesome triumvirate of promo power. They've launched The Official Bloodlines Global Page on Facebook, which will have lots of updates about the series. I'll post a lot of those same updates, but it's always good to follow and check in with these other sources since I can be slow sometimes.
* Lastly, for patient Eugenie followers, University Bookstore just received its shipment of the second issue of the Storm Born comic. It's frustrating to me and U Books that once again, the shipment was sent late to them. This is kind of why comics aren't often carried in regular bookstores. Comic book store seem to get theirs exactly by release day. Of course, U Books gives you the convenience of autographs and having it mailed to you...so it's a toss-up if you want to order online or just go to a local comic book store. Regardless, for those who did order autographed ones, we appreciate everyone's patience! U Books is currently prepping them to mail to their owners, and then I'll come in and sign so that we can get these off ASAP.
* Finally, this has been a hot week for releases for a lot of my adult urban fantasy pals. If you're fans of the genre (and I assume you are!), then check out Carolyn Crane's round-up of what's new and exciting this week.
Okay, that's the scoop for now! Back to Shadow Heir for me...
July 6, 2011
Shadow Heir description!
Summer's in full swing, and I'm one week away from finishing Shadow Heir's first draft. SH is the fourth and last book in the Dark Swan series and winds us through the epic problems Eugenie's gotten herself into. The book comes out in January 2012, and I think it's high time we find out what it's about. I expect we'll see the cover for this in another couple of months.
Note--I can't use enough bold font to emphasize this: if you haven't read the first three books in the series, then you probably shouldn't read the description for Shadow Heir. There are SPOILERS here because it mentions things that happen in previous books, including book #3's rather shocking ending. You've been warned.
SHADOW HEIR
#1 New York Times bestselling author Richelle Mead returns to the Otherworld, a mystic land inextricably linked to our own--and balanced precariously on one woman's desperate courage...
Shaman-for-hire Eugenie Markham strives to keep the mortal realm safe from trespassing entities. But as the Thorn Land's prophecy-haunted queen, there's no refuge for her and her soon-to-be-born-children when a mysterious blight begins to devastate the Otherworld...
The spell-driven source of the blight isn't the only challenge to Eugenie's instincts. Fairy king Dorian is sacrificing everything to help, but Eugenie can't trust the synergy drawing them back together. The uneasy truce between her and her shape shifter ex-lover Kiyo is endangered by secrets he can't--or won't--reveal. And as a formidable force rises to also threaten the human world, Eugenie must use her own cursed fate as a weapon--and risk the ultimate sacrifice...
Ohh, Eugenie. How are you going to get out of this one?
Note--I can't use enough bold font to emphasize this: if you haven't read the first three books in the series, then you probably shouldn't read the description for Shadow Heir. There are SPOILERS here because it mentions things that happen in previous books, including book #3's rather shocking ending. You've been warned.
SHADOW HEIR
#1 New York Times bestselling author Richelle Mead returns to the Otherworld, a mystic land inextricably linked to our own--and balanced precariously on one woman's desperate courage...
Shaman-for-hire Eugenie Markham strives to keep the mortal realm safe from trespassing entities. But as the Thorn Land's prophecy-haunted queen, there's no refuge for her and her soon-to-be-born-children when a mysterious blight begins to devastate the Otherworld...
The spell-driven source of the blight isn't the only challenge to Eugenie's instincts. Fairy king Dorian is sacrificing everything to help, but Eugenie can't trust the synergy drawing them back together. The uneasy truce between her and her shape shifter ex-lover Kiyo is endangered by secrets he can't--or won't--reveal. And as a formidable force rises to also threaten the human world, Eugenie must use her own cursed fate as a weapon--and risk the ultimate sacrifice...
Ohh, Eugenie. How are you going to get out of this one?
July 3, 2011
World Domination
I hope everyone's having a great weekend! Here in the U.S., Independence Day has conveniently fallen on a Monday, giving us a 3-day weekend which is pretty sweet--at least, it's sweet for those who aren't their own employers since I'm still working! Despite logging my daily page count, I've still been able to make it to a few social activities. That, combined with the fact that Seattle finally saw 80 degrees this year, has made for an especially good time.
And speaking of good times, get ready to file this next thing under 'A' for awesome. The Vampire Academy Store, which is the Facebook page for all the officially licensed VA retailers, has been busy with a pretty amazing project. They've been encouraging VA fans around the world to join the ranks as secret agents and photograph books, shirts, and other fun VA things in front of world landmarks.
Here's just a few of the amazing pics people have submitted.
Lily from shadowkissed.com takes over the Eiffel Tower in Paris:
Here's a really gorgeous pic from Burj Khalifa, Dubai:
World AND book domination. Platform 9 & 3/4 in London:
The lovely Hungarian Parliament building in Budapest:
"The stars at night are big and bright..." The Alamo in San Antonio, Texas:
These are seriously just a few of the amazing set the VA Store has collected. You can check out the full album here on the store's Facebook page, which also has updates on their latest goods and promotions. Their page also has info on how to submit your own pictures. Many thanks to the store for organizing this, and thanks so much to all of you who have set out into the world to help spread the VA word!
And speaking of good times, get ready to file this next thing under 'A' for awesome. The Vampire Academy Store, which is the Facebook page for all the officially licensed VA retailers, has been busy with a pretty amazing project. They've been encouraging VA fans around the world to join the ranks as secret agents and photograph books, shirts, and other fun VA things in front of world landmarks.
Here's just a few of the amazing pics people have submitted.
Lily from shadowkissed.com takes over the Eiffel Tower in Paris:
Here's a really gorgeous pic from Burj Khalifa, Dubai:
World AND book domination. Platform 9 & 3/4 in London:
The lovely Hungarian Parliament building in Budapest:
"The stars at night are big and bright..." The Alamo in San Antonio, Texas:
These are seriously just a few of the amazing set the VA Store has collected. You can check out the full album here on the store's Facebook page, which also has updates on their latest goods and promotions. Their page also has info on how to submit your own pictures. Many thanks to the store for organizing this, and thanks so much to all of you who have set out into the world to help spread the VA word!
June 29, 2011
Storm Born comic issue 2 is out today!
If you missed my last post, I just wanted to remind people that the mass market edition of Vampire Academy came out yesterday and the second issue of the Storm Born comic came out today. Busy week! I won't repeat all the details, but info on availability for both of those can be found here.
For now, as a treat for issue 2's release day, I have a five-page preview from the middle of the issue. The first image is posted here, and the links to the next four are down below. I don't have time to properly set all of these on their own pages with a "next" button, so you'll have to keep clicking back to this entry to see subsequent pages. You know how it works. Enjoy!
Go on to page 2
Go on to page 3
Go on to page 4
Go on to page 5
For now, as a treat for issue 2's release day, I have a five-page preview from the middle of the issue. The first image is posted here, and the links to the next four are down below. I don't have time to properly set all of these on their own pages with a "next" button, so you'll have to keep clicking back to this entry to see subsequent pages. You know how it works. Enjoy!
Go on to page 2
Go on to page 3
Go on to page 4
Go on to page 5
June 27, 2011
This week: Dark Swan comic #2 AND Vampire Academy mass market edition!
Alrighty. What's new and exciting this week? So glad you asked. First up, the second issue of the Dark Swan comic will be released on Wednesday, the 29th, in the US and Canada. Reports have come in that Forbidden Planet and Orbital Comics in London have been importing copies, so folks in the UK might be able to snag a copy there. There's also an Australian store that's importing as well, but at the time I'm writing this, I don't have the name handy and will get back to you. University Bookstore is selling autographed copies and has also been making various arrangements with international buyers if you want to get in touch with them for shipping savings plans. If you can hold out for a while, the first four issues will eventually be sold in a bound volume.
In the meantime, here's the cover of issue 2:
Cool, eh? And wait'll you see the semi-naked fight scene! Remember, for these individual comic issues, your best bet is to go to a local comic store since they tend not to be carried in regular bookstores (University Bookstore being the exception, as a favor to me). If you don't know where any are in your town, check this link. And, if you can wait until the 1-4 collected volume comes out, that will be available in more bookstores.
Something else new and exciting is out this week. Vampire Academy #1 is being released in mass market edition here in the U.S. tomorrow, June 27. "Mass market" refers to the small-sized paperback (like the kind they stock in grocery stores). VA's previous paperback edition was the larger sized or "trade paperback" format. Mass is a little cheaper and handy for people on the go. It's also a nice size to pass on to friends who haven't read the series yet!
What's also cool about this is that the mass market will feature chapter 1 of Bloodlines. Here's the cover:
Now, I've noticed a lot of online bookstores are mixing up the mass and trade paperbacks if you try to search this edition out. Two ways to make sure you're getting this one is to check the cover (the mass market looks like the image above; the trade paperback looks like this) and to search by the mass's ISBN #: 1595144617.
Whatever you end up doing, I hope you enjoy, and thanks as always for reading! And as a teaser, here's what else you can look forward to this summer: Succubus Revealed chapter 1, Shadow Heir's description, and The Golden Lily's cover. Good times ahead!
In the meantime, here's the cover of issue 2:
Cool, eh? And wait'll you see the semi-naked fight scene! Remember, for these individual comic issues, your best bet is to go to a local comic store since they tend not to be carried in regular bookstores (University Bookstore being the exception, as a favor to me). If you don't know where any are in your town, check this link. And, if you can wait until the 1-4 collected volume comes out, that will be available in more bookstores.
Something else new and exciting is out this week. Vampire Academy #1 is being released in mass market edition here in the U.S. tomorrow, June 27. "Mass market" refers to the small-sized paperback (like the kind they stock in grocery stores). VA's previous paperback edition was the larger sized or "trade paperback" format. Mass is a little cheaper and handy for people on the go. It's also a nice size to pass on to friends who haven't read the series yet!
What's also cool about this is that the mass market will feature chapter 1 of Bloodlines. Here's the cover:
Now, I've noticed a lot of online bookstores are mixing up the mass and trade paperbacks if you try to search this edition out. Two ways to make sure you're getting this one is to check the cover (the mass market looks like the image above; the trade paperback looks like this) and to search by the mass's ISBN #: 1595144617.
Whatever you end up doing, I hope you enjoy, and thanks as always for reading! And as a teaser, here's what else you can look forward to this summer: Succubus Revealed chapter 1, Shadow Heir's description, and The Golden Lily's cover. Good times ahead!
June 26, 2011
That one time I met Neil Gaiman
This is a working weekend (they all seem to be lately), but I did get to take a quick break today and run over to University Bookstore. Usually, I'm there to sign my own stock...but today someone else was signing stock: Neil Gaiman! Neil has a big event in Seattle tonight, but I couldn't make it. So, my pals at U Bookstore told me it would be okay if I came by while Neil was in the store so I could meet him. I did, and he was absolutely wonderful. It's always amazing when you meet heroes, and they're such warm, friendly people!
Neil also signed Good Omens for me and one of my Sandman volumes. If you've read his stuff, you know he's a good writer, but those two works hold a special place in my heart. I read them in high school, at an age when the world was really opening up to me and I had so many ideas in my head that I was just trying to figure out. His writing, along with Marion Zimmer Bradley's, gave me a number of moments where I was just like, "Ah-ha! That's exactly it. That's what I was feeling and didn't even know it." I was quickly realizing the world wasn't black and white, and it definitely had a huge impact on me to know there were others out there who saw all the grays and nuances of life.
So, anyway, it was quite an honor to meet him. He said I was "magnificently pregnant," which is probably the best way I've heard it described. :) It was a sign of his easy-going nature that I wasn't as tongue-tied as I usually am around idols. If you don't know his stuff...well, it's all good. In books, I recommend Good Omens (written with Terry Pratchett), Stardust, and American Gods. And if you like graphic novels, you should be reading Sandman right now.
Neil also signed Good Omens for me and one of my Sandman volumes. If you've read his stuff, you know he's a good writer, but those two works hold a special place in my heart. I read them in high school, at an age when the world was really opening up to me and I had so many ideas in my head that I was just trying to figure out. His writing, along with Marion Zimmer Bradley's, gave me a number of moments where I was just like, "Ah-ha! That's exactly it. That's what I was feeling and didn't even know it." I was quickly realizing the world wasn't black and white, and it definitely had a huge impact on me to know there were others out there who saw all the grays and nuances of life.
So, anyway, it was quite an honor to meet him. He said I was "magnificently pregnant," which is probably the best way I've heard it described. :) It was a sign of his easy-going nature that I wasn't as tongue-tied as I usually am around idols. If you don't know his stuff...well, it's all good. In books, I recommend Good Omens (written with Terry Pratchett), Stardust, and American Gods. And if you like graphic novels, you should be reading Sandman right now.
