Kim Harrison's Blog, page 55

A Perfect Blood read-along

Don’t forget that Monday is another give-away! A Perfect Blood only gets a week on the bookstand before we move on to EVER AFTER.

 

Trouble on Reserve

click to read

Trouble on Reserve has a new segment that will be popping out today! That will put us at 7 of 9 I think, so we’re almost to the big payoff.

I’m going to send you to the first page this morning , but you can jump to the new segment if you’ve already read it.

If you’ve never heard of wattpad, it’s a place where you can make an account to share your work and receive comments and kudos. You can also sign up to receive notice when one of your favorite authors posts something new. Man, if they had had this twenty years ago . . .  [ go to wattpad ]

Enjoy!

I got nothing

I’m starting to get concerned about spring. Not that it won’t ever get here, because it will. I’ve felt the strength in the sun lately, and it won’t be long.

No, what I’m worried about is the four foot pile of snow next to my basement window. We normally don’t put snow there, but there simply isn’t anywhere left.

I suspect that the first warm melt day will have us shoveling snow back into the drive so it doesn’t melt into my basement. But for now, it’s starting to stack up. As I overheard one of my neighbors this morning, standing at the end of her drive, shovel in hand. “There just isn’t anywhere to put it anymore.”

Winners and chapter four of The Undead Pool

Congratulations go out to the winners of the seven Pale Demon prize packs, each one getting not only a signed copy of Pale Demon, but the harder to find copy of Blood Crime, the second graphic novel I scripted to give a little Ivy/Rachel back story. (But the most rare thing in that prize pack is Rachel’s conference badge. We only made about 3000 of those.)

The emails have already gone out, so check your in-box to see if you’ve won. You have to email me back by Friday, noon, EST to claim your prize, or I give it to the next person on the list. And the winners are (all women this time!):

Nancy H

Melanie McClure

Kathryn Magner

Cindy Goodpaster

Nicole

Cathleen Sage

Shannon Barrett

Click for a sneak peek of cp 4

Thank you for playing with me, everyone. It makes these last few weeks almost bearable as we creep up to the 25th. Harper has also done their part in easing the pain, and chapter four should be popping up today for your reading pleasure. [ click to go to Harper and chapter 4 ] This is one of my favorite chapters. Oh, be still my heart!

I think the signed copies at B&N have been tapped out since they seemed to be gone when I checked this morning, but if you can’t make a signing, you can still get them at Nicola’s, where I can actually sign it to you. [ signed book from Nicola's ]

click to read pt 6

Part six of Trouble on Reserve has popped up today, where we’ll get into the real meat of the story. Honestly, Rachel, when you get it wrong, you really get it wrong, but I like this story if only because we get to see Rachel and Trent actually starting to work together to survive.

Pale Demon flash give-away

Click for 1.99 e-book

Click for 1.99 ebook

The days until the publication of The Undead Pool are down to less than a month, and if you’ve missed it, I’ve got chapters 1-3 up and available for your pre-reading pleasure.  Want a signed copy? I think B&N still has some for pre-order, and if not, Nicola’s will, all first editions and in Nicola’s case, I can sign them personally to you.

The read-along is still going on at Goodreads, and with it, a revolving e-book sale. Pale Demon was still available for the 1.99 price when I checked this morning, but A Perfect Blood is already up there for the reduced price as well. We’re starting  A Perfect Blood in the read-along today, so if you’re rounding out your e-library or catching up on the last few as we get closer to the next release, this is a great way to do it.

Guy is singing in the shower this morning because it’s the last day to order the tour t’s, and he will be cutting it off at midnight tonight (EST). Want to get in on the last-minute action? Info to order is at a previous post here: How to order a shirt.  and is Kim coming near me?

Today, I’m giving away seven prize packs, each having a hard cover, signed copy of Pale Demon, and a copy of Blood Crime, the second and final graphic Hollows novel from Ivy’s POV that shows Rachel and Ivy working together at the I.S. There’s also a signed cover flat from Ever After, a bunny pin, bus token, and Rachel’s Witches’ Conference badge, which was the freebie that year.

To enter the contest for the prize pack, all you have to do is drop down to the comment box at the end of the page here and tell me if you think Lucy was a happy accident, or a planned event. (If you’ve not read the book, then tell me what you think of the cover.) Your post is your entry into the random drawing, so please comment only once–on your honor!

Rules and Regs. I will open the page for comments Monday, 9:00 a.m. EST, and close it Tuesday 9:00 a.m. EST. I will then use a random number generator to choose the seven winning commenters.

Stuff to know before commenting:

Guy will ship overseas, so international is okay.

Chances of winning are dependent on how many enter.

My decision is final, even if you quibble over it.

I will contact the winners Tuesday morning using the email address they used to comment with, so please check it in the next day or so. If you don’t respond to me by email by Friday, noon, EST, I’m giving the prize pack to the runner up, also chosen by the random number generator.

Thanks for playing with me guys. This has been a lot of fun! And good luck!

You can’t stop the sun

You can’t stop the sun. I’d been paying attention to it the last couple of weeks or so, and even with the bone-breaking cold we have been having, even with the foot of crusty icy  heavy on my yard, and the five-foot tunnels of plowed snow the cars are driving through, I could feel the strength of the sun had shifted–and I waited.

This morning, the first cardinal sang, and it was the breaking of winter’s back. I could almost cry.

click to read pt 5

Click to read cp 1-3

Part five of Trouble on Reserve is now up for your viewing pleasure, and if you missed it, chapters 1-3 of THE UNDEAD POOL as well.

Monday is the end of Pale Demon at the read-along, which means we’ll have another 24 hour give away. Comment box will open up about 9:00 EST. See you then!

Last call for tour T orders

I don’t have anything for you guys today other than a weather report. (Same as yesterday. Cold but getting warmer.) So I’m going to take the day to remind everyone that the cut off for ordering a tour T is upon us. It’s too late to order one by snail mail, but if you can swing pay pal, we can still get you into the last order. (This is everyone who ordered after November 25th to today, and I have to thank everyone who has been so patient. Keeping this to two print runs makes it a lot cheaper.)

Wearing one to a signing gets you into a “family photo” at the bookstore and bragging rights. We only make these available until the tour starts, and then they are gone. This year, they sport the Free Vampire Society graffiti. The back will list the tour cities. (Am I coming near you? Check out the store list.)

Each shirt will include a Free Vampire Society pin. These pins will also be available to the first 100 people through the signing line at each stop. Due to their odd size and cost, I can’t make these available for a SASE.

Guy tried to bring the price down from last year, but the shipping is awful once you get outside the U.S. and it’s frustrating. We’ve tried to make it simple, and all prices include trackable shipping. Domestic will go priority mail. International shipments will go international priority. Here’s the details:

Unisex sizing from small to 5X, all the same price. (I wear a medium. Guy is wearing a large in the photo.)

USA 19.95

Canada 33.95

International 37.95

Sorry, no discounts on multiple shirt purchases.  If you want to check on your order, contact Guy at coldtoastwritingsllc@comcast.net but you have to tell him the email your paypal is associated with and the size you ordered, and if you ordered by pay pal or check.

To order: Pay Pal the correct amount to Guy at coldtoastwritingsllc@comcast.net

When you order, please tell Guy in the “email to recipient” box :

1. your size(s) you want

2. your name

3. your shipping address.

Paypal does not always supply the shipping address, and it gets confusing. If you do not tell us these three things when you order, your money will be immediately refunded, and you will not get a shirt.We can’t be responsible for misdirected mail. If you’re using your brother’s PayPal, keep this in mind.

Read-along is moving along

We’re getting closer to the end as we finish up Pale Demon this week in the Goodreads read-along. Pale Demon is one of my favorites in the series, though I think The Undead Pool and it’s as yet unnamed sibling are going to pull that distinction when they finally reach the shelves. It’s more than the chance to get out of the city and see how the Turn has impacted the rest of the U.S., It’s more than getting Trent away from his day-to-day so he can relax a little around Rachel and the gang. A lot of things are settled in this book, and new understandings evolve, such as Rachel saving the life of Al, and standing tall in front of her peers with no guilt for her past. But it’s the evolving relationships that really make this one of my favorites, and I’m not talking about Trent here.

One of my favorite aspects of being a writer is writing an evolving relationship, seeing it unfold from one or two peoples’ perspectives, one person getting it wrong, or not understanding how the other one feels, not in a bad way, but realistic. And then seeing understanding and what happens after that.

It can take an entire book. It can take an entire series. I love it, and it’s probably why I’d rather tease with “what if” then dive in and see.

But occasionally there are times when readers collectively tell me that I’ve not done it right, that they don’t see the path from a to b to c, and they still think b is possible. I’m talking about Ivy and Rachel here, and even though they have tried and failed, then gone on to find a way to live beside each other taking what they need in sideways slices rather than the entire pie, a lot of readers were not getting what I was subtly trying to say. It’s then that the storyteller has to either change the direction of their story, or do something bold and drastic to make it clear that THIS is the path we are on.

Pages 299 and on are like that, and they were some of the most difficult pages I had to write for Pale Demon. As a storyteller, I had already said good-bye to the path where Rachel and Ivy find a blood balance. Rachel had done the same. So had Ivy. But it needed to be said again, and in a way that left no opening to go back–even with wishful thinking.

I think it’s a tribute to both character’s respect for each other that they did manage to get back to the church and live almost a year longer pretending that Rachel was like everyone else and Ivy might someday find a way out of her vampiric curse. Ivy’s claim that Rachel was moving too fast, adapting to changes that she and Jenks couldn’t was both honest and heartbreaking. But it isn’t quite true, and by the end of the series, Ivy and Jenks both find they can adapt, change, and even innovate themselves.

We’ll be starting A Perfect Blood next Tuesday, and you’re welcome to come over to Goodreads and take part in the threaded conversations of this or previous titles. [ Goodreads read-along ]

 

Chapters one, two, and three of The Undead Pool

We are a month out from publication, and that means early chapter releases! I’m going to send you right to Harper today where all three are, but if you want to simply tease yourself with chapter one, I’ve got that at my website. (Chapter one at website) (Chapters one to three at Harper)

I’ll be on the road in just a month, and I hope we’re done with this cold by then because I’ll be traveling a lot in that first week, hitting a lot of stores over the next two weeks.

Ann Arbor, Mi

Cincinnati, OH

Minneapolis, MN

Pittsburgh, PA

Saratoga Springs, NY

New York, NY

Ridgefield, CT

Boston, MA

Raleigh, NC

Columbia, SC

Atlanta, GA

New Orleans, LA

Lansing, MI

(check the events page for stores and times)

Can’t make a signing, and want a signed book? I’ve got two outlets right now, though I don’t know how long B&N’s will last as I only signed about 1000 or so. Here’s the link to B&N,  or you can order from Nicola’s where I can personalize it to you and they will ship overseas.

If you ARE going to be at one of the stores, or if you just want to show your support, the Tour T’s are still available by PayPal.

click to order

Guy hasn’t sent that last order in yet, so there’s still time. Shirts come with a Free Vampire Society pin, which I’ll have at each store for the first 100 people through the line as well. Wearing the shirt–from this or a previous tour–will get you into the family photo, which I keep forever, unlike the bunny camp photos which only stay up for a year or so.

click to read pt 4

If you’re looking for the latest excerpt on Trouble on Reserve, I’ve got part four of the Trent/Rachel short now up at Wattpad.

Had enough snow?

I know I have had enough snow now to remember to be grateful for spring. It can go away. Unfortunately I hear tell there’s another week of sub zero headed our way, and we just have to endure it. And when the snow is almost over the fence, that’s what I’m down to–endurance. Fortunately I was born here in Michigan, and I know what endurance is–it’s what comes before spring. (Anyone but me remember the root children?)

click to read pt 3

But I have something for you who like to snuggle up with the printed word.

The third installment of Trouble on Reserve is up, and we’ll have the forth tomorrow! Also, I’ve got news about the expected chapter releases. I’ll have chapters 1-3 available tomorrow as well. Not sure what format or where, but when they pop up, I’ll pass it on. (Chapter one is at the website already)