Chloe Neill's Blog, page 118

In the meantime...

I am five days away from my (revised) deadline on HARD BITTEN.*

While I work feverishly to finish up the final scenes, here's a little food for thought. It's the organizational matrix purportedly penned by J.K. Rowling to plot out one of the Harry Potter books. Interesting method, no?



* - Note that finishing the manuscript only means the first draft is finished. We still have multilpe rounds of editing, proofing, printing and shipping to go, so by no means have I finished the book "early" so as to allow publication before May 2011. In fact, we're skirting the deadline. Send love and happy thoughts to my editor and the managing editor!! Thank them for pushing the publication up to May!

I just wrote this seconds ago--it's Merit and Jeff talkin...

I just wrote this seconds ago--it's Merit and Jeff talking--and cracked up after I read it. That Jeff. Such a hoot.
* * * *
"Not much we can do about that now. But there is something you can do for me." I held up a hand before he could remind me about Fallon again. "And it's nothing prurient. But it will require your technological prowess."
"Well, that is my second favorite prowess."

From Steel Creek

From Steel Creek, originally uploaded by chloeneill.

I've uploaded pictures from my recent trip to Arkansas (where SHB proposed!). You can view them now on Flickr.

New TWICE BITTEN cover from Tantor Media

This is the cover for next week's audiobook release of TWICE BITTEN from Tantor Media. Tres swanky, no?


TWICE BITTEN will be released on audiobook next Monday!

The Synopsis of HARD BITTEN!

And without further ado, here's the back cover copy for HARD BITTEN. Feel free to use the comments to theorize about all your CV favorites. :)

Times are hard for newly minted vampire Merit. Ever since shapeshifters announced their presence to the world, humans have been rallying against supernaturals--and they're camping outside of Cadogan House with protest signs that could turn to pitchforks at any moment. Inside its doors, things between Merit and her Master, green-eyed heartbreaker Ethan Sullivan are ... tense. But then the mayor of Chicago calls Merit and Ethan to a clandestine meeting and tells them about a violent vamp attack that has left three women missing. His message is simple: get your House in order. Or else.

Merit needs to get to the bottom of this crime, but it doesn't help that she can't tell who's on her side. So she secretly calls in a favor from someone who's tall, dark, and part of underground vamp group that may have some deep intel on the attack. Merit soon finds herself in theheady, dark heart of Chicago's supernatural society--a world full of vampires who seem to ready to fulfill the protesting human's worst fears, and a place where she'll learn that you can't be a vampire without getting a little blood on your hands...

Release date is May 3, 2011.

Eighty Days Until HEXBOUND!!

As you know, I'm diligently working on HARD BITTEN to get it turned in for the May 2010 release date. But stayed tuned in the coming weeks for such awesome features as:
1. Your first sneak peek of HEXBOUND! 2. The HEXBOUND ARC contest!3. Your chance to win a stack of "New To You" books from Penguin4. The synopsis of HARD BITTEN
And more!
In the meantime, have you visited my new Flickr site? Drop by for pics of Chicago (and other Chloe Neill snapshots).
Happy weekend!

New - Chloe Neill Facebook Page

I've finally gotten around to creating an official Facebook page (as opposed to my general use page), so feel free to "Like!" to your heart's content!

SOME GIRLS BITE receives 2010 Nebraska Book Award

Huge thanks to The Nebraska Center for the Book for giving SOME GIRLS BITE a 2010 Nebraska Book Award for young adult fiction.




Here are the rest of the winners:

ANTHOLOGY: Bruce A. Glasrud and Charles A. Braithwaite. African Americans on the Great Plains: An Anthology. University of Nebraska Press.

ANTHOLOGY HONOR: Loren C. Eiseley, Ray Bradbury, and Aaron Franco. The Loren Eiseley Reader. Abbatia Press/Infusionmedia Publishing.

FICTION: Ladette Randolph. _A Sandhills Ballad_. University of New Mexico Press.

NONFICTION: Joe Starita. "I Am a Man": Chief Standing Bear's Journey for Justice. St. Martin's Press.

NONFICTION HONOR: Robert Cochran. Louise Pound: Scholar, Athlete, Feminist Pioneer. University of Nebraska Press.

POETRY: Dwaine Spieker. Garden of Stars. All Along Press.

COVER/DESIGN/ILLUSTRATION: Mari Sandoz and Kimberli A. Lee. "I Do Not Apologize for the Length of This Letter": The Mari Sandoz Letters on Native American Rights, 1940-1965. Texas Tech University Press. Designer: Lindsay Starr. Cover photos: Courtesy Caroline Sandoz Pifer Collection, Mari Sandoz High Plains Heritage Center, Chadron State College

COVER/DESIGN/ILLUSTRATION HONOR: Forsberg, Michael. Great Plains: America's Lingering Wild. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.

Audiobooks and Another Project

1. Audiobooks

Only three weeks until the release of TWICE BITTEN on audiobook! Here's the complete release schedule so you can mark your calendars:

November 1, 2010 - Twice Bitten
November 29, 2010 - Some Girls Bite
December 13, 2010 - Friday Night Bites

Tantor also promises audio samples (coming soon!) on the TWICE BITTEN page, so check back!

2. Projects

Fact: I am sentimental, and I keep ticket stubs, booksigning adverts, fortune cookie messages, etc.

Problem: I have no time to actually do anything with this stuff.

I'm currently considering my options (and I have plenty of supplies), I just need time to actually get it done. (Darn you, Ethan and Merit!).

Ali Edwards has already (!) posted the foundation pages for her 2011 December Daily journal. Although I don't have time this year to do a December Daily (although I'm very excited to be spending the holidays with J and his family), I think the foundation for the DD would work really well for any "stuff saving" project. I especially love the big rings and the journaling pages.

Oh, for cute!

As I'm busily typing away on HARD BITTEN to bring you all the vampire-inspired drama you can handle, I thought I'd offer up some stuff I've seen on the webs lately that will keep you busy this weekend.

1. Recipe Binder project by Cathy Zielske. As CZ puts it, for cute!



2. Learn to make biscuits from scratch.

3. If you're in Chicagoland, make plans to visit the Bucktown Apple Pie Contest on October 10.

4. Design your own custom Converses. (Click on "Design Your Own" in the upper right.)

5. Prep an inspiration board. (Those provided by Snippet & Ink are wedding-oriented, but you get the general idea.)

6. Make your brownies more exciting.

--> Also, LESS THAN 100 DAYS UNTIL HEXBOUND! Stay tuned for news about an AWESOME Hexbound ARC contest that includes lots of new Penguin titles!



That is all. Happy weekend, everyone!