Lucienne Diver's Blog: Lucienne Diver's Drivel, page 22

We are Tuesdays, Hear us Roar

My puppy Ginger is here with me today to demonstrate the wrong way to devour a book and also to help me introduce Amy Christine Parker’s and my debut YA Rebels Vlog!

 

 

As you’ll see when you check out our Stupid Author Tricks, Amy and I sacrificed our dignity for your amusement.  In the future, we’ll be talking about book launches, agent/author relationships, books, books and more books.  But don’t just check us out!  Every day the YA Rebels post new and unique vlogs.  I know I can’t wait to see what everyone has in store!

A few things

Happy Monday, everyone!  A few exciting things to talk about today.  For one, Amy Christine Parker (author of GATED) and I are two of the newest YA Rebels!  You can meet us all briefly in the video below or check out our short bios here.   You can also check out our audition interview.

 

 

Also, I’m up today on Magical Words talking about characterization and defining moments.  Hope you’ll stop on by!

Interview with Diana Rodriguez Wallach

I’m happy to have Girlfriends Cyber Sister Diana Rodriguez Wallach here today talking about her latest release REFLECTING AMY!

REFLECTING EMMY Back Cover Copy

Eighteen-year-old Emmy is in the family business-trapping vapid narcissistic souls into her silver compact mirror for all eternity. It’s what the Rhamnusia family has been doing for thousands of years, all under the direction of Great Grandmother. Only Emmy’s latest assignment, Nara, is about to prove more challenging than she ever expected.

Gorgeous and self-absorbed, Nara is unflinchingly cruel to her classmates. Even her boyfriend, Luke, can no longer tolerate her actions–much to Emmy’s relief since she finds Luke a little more than intriguing. But when Emmy tricks Nara into gazing into her mystical mirror, what she finds there is not what she’s expecting.

Background About REFLECTING EMMY and the MIRROR, MIRROR Trilogy

Diana Rodriguez Wallach, author of the award-winning YA series Amor and Summer Secrets, has created a modern take on the myths of Narcissus and Nemesis in a contemporary teen setting.

Her Mirror, Mirror trilogy debuts September 3rd with “Reflecting Emmy,” followed by “Nara Gazing” in October, and “Shattering GiGi” in November. Each title will be a $0.99 short story sold in digital ebook format for Kindle, nook, and kobo. The titles will be combined to create the complete Mirror, Mirror trilogy, along with bonus materials and a prequel short story, in December 2013.

In early 2014, Diana’s Mirror, Mirror trilogy will be combined with the works of YA authors Jammie Kern and Magda Knight to create the Mythology High anthology, available in ebook and paperback through Buzz Books.

What People Are Saying:

“A fun, fresh and thoroughly entertaining modern twist on the Narcissus myth. Readers will love Emmy and her (mis)adventures. Wallach packs a lot of story into a small packing–romance, friendship and the power of one person to make a difference. The only thing missing… is more!” ~ Tera Lynn Childs, award-winning author of Oh. My. Gods., Forgive My Fins, and Sweet Venom.

“Diana Rodriguez Wallach’s Mythology High is too much fun. Emmy collects narcissistic souls for the family business but after making one tiny little mistake she finds her life turned upside down. These three stories are a must for anyone who loves Greek mythology, feisty heroines and second chances. My only complaint is that I didn’t want them to finish.” –Amanda Ashby, author of Fairy Bad Day and Demonosity

Interview with Diana Wallach:

1. What is your writing process like?  Are you a plotter or a pantser?  Do you schedule time to write each day or are you a spree writer?

I used to be an organic writer, and I wrote my first three books by the seat of my pants. But now I’m an outliner. The difference is, I became a mom, so my writing schedule is more sporadic than I’d like and an outline helps keep me on track. Though I wrote Reflecting Emmy, the first short story in the Mirror, Mirror trilogy, organically in less than two hours while sitting in a coffee shop in Philly. I wish all writing could go that smoothly.

2. What is the hardest part about the publishing process for you and how do you get through it? (For me, it’s copyediting and sour cream and onion chips.)

Being on submission. I’m not a patient person and I hate waiting to hear what editors might think.

3. We drop your hero or heroine on a deserted island.  Quick, what are the three things he or she can’t live without?

Emmy can’t live without her silver compact mirror, which she uses it to trap Narcissistic teens for all eternity; her purse, which is where she keeps her mirror, and her “targets” held captive; her iPod, she moves a lot with her job and going to concerts is her favorite pastime.

4. If your story were a film, who would you cast?

For Emmy, the paranormal secret agent who traps teen Narcissistic souls for a living, I’d cast Vanessa Hudgens. Emmy’s Greek, a decedent of the goddess Nemesis, and I think Vanessa has that Mediterranean look.

For Nara, the shallow, narcissistic girl whom Emmy is targeting, I’d cast Molly Quinn (the daughter from Castle). Nara is a strawberry blond beauty just like the actress.

5. Are there any contests or upcoming appearances/interviews/etc. you’d like to plug?

Reflecting Emmy is the first short story in my Mirror, Mirror trilogy. It’s different from your typical book release. Each of my short stories—Reflecting Emmy, Nara Gazing, and Shattering GiGi—will be released individually as ebooks in September, October, and November, respectively. Then they will be compiled together to create the Mirror, Mirror trilogy, with a prequel short story and bonus material, which will be released in December. THEN, my stories will be added with two other authors—Jammie Kern and Magda Knight—to create the Mythology High anthology in January 2014. Whew, that’s a lot of releases. So keep an eye out for all of them!

Congratulations on your fabulous new release!

GCC Interview with Amanda Ashby

 Amanda Ashby’s novels always sound like so much fun!  I’m very pleased today to host a Q&A with Amanda to celebrate the release of her latest book DEMONOSITY.  Check it out!

Book Blurb:

The Black Rose–a powerful ancient force–has been let loose and has taken up residence in Celeste Gibson, popular girl at Cassidy Carter-Lewis’ high school. Thomas Delacroix is the spirit of a fourteenth-century knight who is devoted to protecting the Black Rose, but he needs a contemporary living being to take on the challenge. That’s where Cassidy comes in. She’s a quirky high school junior who just wants to dress in her vintage clothes, hang out with her best friend, and take care of her father, who is recovering from surgery. She’s the last person who would ever volunteer for such a task, but no one actually asked her.  Now, like it or not, she finds herself training before dawn and battling demons at parties, the mall, and even at school. But hey, no one ever said high school was going to be easy.

Reviews:

“With interesting characters and a fresh plot, this absorbing read addresses everything from peer pressure to intelligent guy pals to self-reliance, with just enough paranormal activity to maintain an edge. The message never overwhelms the fun in this frothy paranormal romp.” Kirkus Reviews

“Ashby’s frothy romp percolates with lighthearted humor and droll dialogue, while an involving plot and themes exploring friendship and self-reliance add satisfying substance.” School Library Journal

Interview with Amanda Ashby:

What is your writing process like?  Are you a plotter or a pantser?  Do you schedule time to write each day or are you a spree writer?

I’m a panster and I do try and write everyday but I’m not always trustworthy so can I often get distracted by just about anything. Oh, look, a pretty piece of grass. I must go and look at it immediately…  

What is the hardest part about the publishing process for you and how do you get through it? (For me, it’s copyediting and sour cream and onion chips.)

The waiting. I find a lot of publishing moves very slowly and for someone with an overactive imagination, being left with too much time on my hands is never a good thing! And actually, I have no idea how you manage it considering you’re an agent as well as an author – that’s like double waiting!

We drop your hero or heroine on a deserted island.  Quick, what are the three things he or she can’t live without?

Cassidy is the most indecisive person in the world (no, of course she didn’t get that from me) so asking her to quickly name three things is impossible. I mean seriously, the girl can’t even decide what her favorite chocolate bar is!

If your story were a film, who would you cast?

I would cast Emily Browning as Cassidy because she’s totally adorable. Tom Sturridge as Nash because he’s gorgeous and brooding and Joseph Beattie as Thomas (I know he’s probably too old to play a teenager but he’s so very pretty and I think when someone is pretty we should make an exception!!!)

Bio:

Amanda Ashby was born in Australia and after spending the last sixteen years dividing her time between England and New Zealand, she’s finally returned home for some sunshine. When she’s not moving country, she likes to write books (okay, she also likes to eat chocolate, watch television and sit around doing not much, but let’s just keep that amongst ourselves, shall we?)

She has a degree in English and Journalism from the University of Queensland and is married with two children. Her debut book, You Had Me at Halo was nominated for a Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice award. Zombie Queen of Newbury High was listed by the New York Public Library’s Stuff for the Teen Age 2010. Fairy Bad Day was selected by Voya as one of their Top Shelf Fiction for Middle School Readers 2012 and was a SCBWI Crystal Kite Award finalist for the Australia/NZ region.

 Where to stalk…er, find…her:

http://www.amandaashby.com

https://twitter.com/amandaashby

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Amanda-Ashby

Rise of the Blood – new release!

Hey, all!  Just back from DragonCon.  I promise to post pictures very soon, along with a write up requested by my friend Tim.  In the meantime, I’m so excited about the digital release of my new Latter-Day Olympians novel RISE OF THE BLOOD, that I just had to post.  Think of it as My Big Fat Greek Wedding with gods and gorgons.  It’s set in Greece – Delphi in particular, and, well, I’ll let my cover copy do the talking.  (BTW, for those of you who prefer print, as I must admit I do, RISE OF THE BLOOD will be in trade paperback in 2014.)

Book Blurb:

Weddings can be war.

Great. Tori Karacis’s face is on the front of yet another tabloid “news”paper, linked to Hollywood hottie Apollo Demas. It was ONE dinner, and she was pissed with him at the time. But that’s the least of her worries. Just before leaving for her cousin’s destination wedding in Delphi, she learns that her arch nemeses, Zeus and Poseidon, have escaped police custody.

Despite looking forward to seeing Detective Nick Armani in a tux, her bad pre-flight jitters are confirmed when Apollo, with his sexy new co-star on his arm, boards the same plane. A plane that a freak storm nearly tears out of the sky.

What awaits them atop Mount Parnassus is even more deadly. A prophecy, a kidnapping, and a bloodletting that stirs up the mother of all trouble—literally. Rhea is awakened, and she’s none too happy with her offspring for losing their usurped dominion over the Earth.

The Olympians have fallen. It’s time for the Titans to rise again. Which means it’ll be a bad day for anyone standing in their way.

Warning: Bloodbath or blissful union…either way, the stakes are high in this destination Delphi wedding high atop the peaks of Mount Parnassus. Passions will flare, Titans will rise, monsters will awake, blood will boil and some will spill.

Series reviews:

BAD BLOOD (Latter-Day Olympians, Book 1)

“Bad Blood is a delightful urban fantasy, a clever mix of Janet Evanovich and Rick Riordan, and a true Lucienne Diver original.” —Long and Short Reviews

“Tori Karacis in Bad Blood is sharp, sexy, and wickedly funny. I adored this book!” —Faith Hunter, author of the NYT bestselling Jane Yellowrock series

“BAD BLOOD is a wonderful read. The mystery keeps the reader engaged, the action makes the reader want to roll with the punches, and the romance makes the senses tingle. This is a great book to coil up with on a lazy Sunday afternoon.” —Fresh Fiction

“This was just an entertaining read, and one of the rare books where I liked the heroine, villain, and the love interests. It’s one of my favorite novellas of the year…. This is just one great read.” —A Buckeye Girl Reads

“There are plenty of twists and turns, lots of action, a couple of near-death experiences, several threats, n and a mystery to solve as Tori and Nick try to save the city from being destroyed…. It’s all added together into a fast paced, complicated plot that makes for an entertaining read.” -Literary Nymphs Reviews

“It’s entertaining and the humor often works, making this one a most pleasant pick-me-up read.”  —Mrs. Giggles

 

CRAZY IN THE BLOOD (Latter-Day Olympians, Book 2)

“A smart, sassy heroine, gods and monsters aplenty, a couple of sexy might-be-love interests and knotty mystery to unravel – what more could you want? Lucienne Diver’s writing is sharp and funny, making CRAZY IN THE BLOOD a must-read from start to finish and a more than worthy successor to BAD BLOOD.” —Christina Henry, author of the Black Wings series

“This is a novel that anyone seeking a terrifically fun novel will enjoy, and just quirky enough that it will attract lots of other readers as well… one heck of a rollicking good read.” —Night Owl Reviews

“The second book in this series is like a mashup of Greek mythology and a Janet Evanovich mystery, with snappy dialogue, romantic entanglements and bodies dropping everywhere.” —Romantic Times Book Reviews

Vampires vs. Werewolves

In honor of the Vampires vs. Werewolves panel that I’m on Friday night (8:30) at DragonCon, I went to tweet the link to my heroine Gina’s “Why My Vampire Boyfriend is Better than Your Wolf” blog and found the link broken!  Thus, I am reprinting here, hopefully for your amusement.

“Why My Vampire Boyfriend is Better than Your Wolf” by Gina Covello, Fashionista of the Damned (and star of Vamped, Revamped, Fangtastic and Fangtabulous by Lucienne Diver)

#1- Vampires don’t shed.  That’s right, vampires have follicles of steel.  It’s totally part of the whole fanged and fabulous package.  This means that when my boyfriend rubs up against me, he doesn’t leave light hairs on my little black dress.  We don’t get wild hairs growing out of our ears or anywhere else.  Plus, no hairballs to clog the drain and back the water up around our ankles.

#2- Wolves go through outfits like a girl goes through gloss.  Yeah, werewolves are a little like the Incredible Hulk…transforming involves as much shredding as shedding.  If you’re lucky, a few swatches of fabric hang on for dear life, keeping the naughty bits under cover.  If not…well, there’s the whole public indecency thing.  I can think of way better ways to spend your weekend than bailing your boy out of the clink.  Or, restitching his seams.  Because unless the boy’s independently wealthy (highly recommended, BTW) closets full of replacement clothes aren’t generally an option.

#3- Speaking of that whole public indecency thing, there’s the whole caught on film fiasco (a la Lindsay Lohan).  Not even a possibility with us vamps.  Of course, neither is a film career, but there are totally trade-offs.

#4- My boyfriend only wants to suck on my neck, not rip it out.

#5- Vampires don’t come home with fleas and ticks…especially the latter.  It’s a kind of professional courtesy, one bloodsucker to another.

#6- Silver allergies totally limit your accessory options.  What if you’re a winter?

#7- Even when fanged, he’s fabulous.  Werewolves…not so much.  If they’re not off howling at the moon, they’re obsessed with sniffing each others’ butts or licking those hard to reach areas.  When they come home you find they’ve run through a briar patch or scared up a skunk or eaten your BFF.  Completely uncool.

#8- Werewolves are completely hormonal around every full moon.  And heaven forbid their monthly cycle coincides with yours…or the prom.  That’s when the fur really flies.

#9- Two words…dog breath.  Enough said.

[Disclaimer: none of the above applies if the wolf in question happens to look anything like Taylor Lautner, in which case he can down some breath mints and shed in my shower any day of the week.  And twice on Sundays.]

DragonCon et. al.

I’m excited to be headed off for DragonCon tomorrow in Atlanta.  Rather than give you the link to my author site (oops, there it is), I thought I’d cut and paste my panels and the rest of my authorial appearances for the year down below.  Note: when not on panels, I’m likely to be found at Tairen’s Lair, Booth 2205, 2304 – Floor 2 in America’s Mart (Peachtree Street across from Hyatt Regency & the Peachtree Street Mall), where I and a bunch of other amazing authors will be selling and signing our books, including Faith Hunter, D.B. Jackson/David B. Coe, Kalayna Price, Rod Belcher, Mari Mancusi, Cheryl Wilson, James Tuck, John Hartness, Deidre Knight, Elaine Issaak, Diana Peterfreund and others!

Dragon*Con in Atlanta, GA

Panels:

——————-

Title: What’s Next in Urban Fantasy?

Description: Industry professionals share their insights on what’s new and what’s next in the field

Time: Fri 11:30 am Location: International BC – Westin (Length: 1 Hour)

——————-

Title: Not Just For Kids: The Universal Appeal of Young Adult Urban Fantasy

Description: A panel discussion with published young adult authors regarding the cross-generational appeal of the genre.

Time: Fri 05:30 pm Location: International BC – Westin (Length: 1 Hour)

——————-

Title: Vampires vs. Werewolves

Description: Which is more awesome: vampires or werewolves? Dear reader, you must choose a side in this hilarious debate.

Time: Fri 08:30 pm Location: A707 – Marriott (Length: 1 Hour)

——————-

Title: Fighting For Writing

Description: When editors want something changed, how hard do writers fight to keep it…or not?

Time: Sat 01:00 pm Location: Embassy A-B – Hyatt (Length: 1 Hour)

——————-

Title: Secrets of Editors and Agents

Description: There must be some secret way to get an agent or sell a book, right? Let the Editors and Agents tell you what they’re looking for.

Time: Sun 10:00 am Location: Embassy D-F – Hyatt (Length: 1 Hour)

——————-

Title: Vampires in YA

Description: There are legions of vampires in YA. Let’s discuss the diversity of this fang-tastic genre.

Time: Sun 04:00 pm Location: A707 – Marriott (Length: 1 Hour)

——————-

Title: Characters Who People Your Books

Description: Developing compelling characters for today’s fiction market.

Time: Mon 10:00 am Location: Embassy D-F – Hyatt (Length: 1 Hour)

——————-

October 18-20 Necronomicon in Tampa, FL (with guest of honor Christopher Paolini)

October 19 Lake County Library System’s 4th annual Trash to Fashion event at the Umatilla Public Library

Crux, Comiccon and YA writing advice.

First, Ramez Naam’s CRUX, the even more amazing (if that’s possible) sequel to NEXUS releases today in the US (Sept. 5th in the UK)

 CRUX by Ramez Naam

Six months have passed since the release of Nexus 5. The world is a different, more dangerous place.

In the USA, the freedom fighters of the Post-Human Liberation Front use Nexus to turn men and women into human time bombs aimed at the President and his allies.

The first blows in the war between human and posthuman have been struck.

Praise and Reviews:

“Potent like Naam’s vividly imagined nano-drug Nexus, Crux is a heady cocktail of ideas and page-turning prose. It left my brain buzzing for days afterwards.” – Hannu Rajaniemi, author of The Quantum Thief and The Fractal Prince

“A blisteringly paced technothriller that dives deeper and even better into the chunky questions raised by Nexus. This is a fabulous book, and it ends in a way that promises at least one more. Count me in.” – Cory Doctorow, author of Little Brother

“Smart, thoughtful, and hard to drop, this richly nuanced sequel outshines its predecessor with a wide cast of characters and some complicated, uneasy questions about power, responsibility, and the future of humanity.” – Publishers Weekly

“Crux is an outstanding speculative fiction adventure … in the same league as Michael Crichton and Daniel Suarez. Put it at the top of your summer reading list!” – Scientific American

“Sublime. This book is speculative fiction at its finest.. Mr. Naam masterfully mobilizes the zeitgeist of contemporary political and tech culture.. Tempts readers with equal parts dread and optimism. This is not a book to be missed.” – Page of Reviews

“Readers of Ramez Naam‘s techno-thriller NEXUS will not want to miss the awesome sequel, CRUX.” – Kurzweil AI

“Crux does the work of great science fiction. It makes the reader look closely and critically at what kind of world we’re building here and now.” – Kent Peterson

“Naam’s writing is always strong, fluid and sure. With gripping, heart-pounding action scenes and muscle-binding tension normally reserved for horror stories, Crux is a book you don’t want to miss.” – Allways Unmended

 A quick review of the Tampa Bay ComicCon.  GET YOUR GAME ON!  I enjoyed myself, don’t get me wrong, but this didn’t qualify for the name ComicCon, which implies a lot more than a few celebrity guests, great hall costumes and a dealer’s room.  Where were the movie trailers or anime rooms?  Where the gaming?  Where the other programming tracks?  You have so much talent to draw from in Tampa Bay or an hour away in Orlando or many, many other locales here.  And I know the attendees surprised the heck out of you by our numbers, but you called it “ComicCon”!  That alone says huge and as difficult to wield as Thor’s hammer.  We got in early, so we missed the three hour lines circling blocks.  We didn’t miss the broken escalators et al.  I would love to have a really amazing ComicCon so close, but I think the organizers might want to tap into the runners of other local cons, like Necronomicon, which is coming in October, for ideas and inspiration.

In other news, The Knight Agency newsletter is out, including an interview with Amanda Sun, an author tip of the month, agency news and advice, etc.  Unfortunately, my piece of advice about adult authors wanting to write for the YA market got left out.  You know how it is when you give a piece of your mind and it’s just left hanging.  Then you start looking and feeling like someone from the Walking Dead (sorry, ComicCon brain).  So, here are my two cents:

I’d say that if you’ve got an idea that calls to you and insists on being written, then you should absolutely go for it, but I’d never suggest jumping on a bandwagon just for the sake of riding along a trend.  You want something that leads the pack.  When writing for young adults, remember that you can’t keep them safe, and that pulling punches won’t work any better for YA than adult fiction.  You’ve got to throw your characters into their challenges and give them the wherewithal or the growth to face them.  Sometimes triumph, sometimes simply survive, but under their own steam.

 

While I’m at it, here’s some of the best and quickest writing advice you will ever read:  Authors write their advice on their hands.

Enjoy, all!  The blog may be a bit quiet for the rest of the week.  I’m away Thursday through Monday at DragonCon, but I will be back with lots of amazing pics, so stay tuned next week.

A few fun things

First, a welcome to my newest client, Marie Langager! You can find out about her journey and how we came to be working together in a fun post over on her blog.

Next, Amy Christine Parker, the author of debut YA thriller GATED is over at Random Buzzers answering questions, so fire away!

Over on Chuck Wendig’s blog, Ramez Naam is talking about his sf thriller CRUX, which releases in just days.  If you’ve read NEXUS, you’re going to want to check out CRUX.  If you haven’t, what are you waiting for?  An amazing novel that had Scott Harrison (author of Archangel) calling him, “the only serious successor to Michael Crichton working in the future history genre today.”

Guest Blog about setting and RAGNAROK AND ROLL by Keith R.A. DeCandido

I’m so pleased to present a guest blog by Keith R.A. DeCandido, whose brand new story collection RAGNAROK AND ROLL has just been released by Plus One Press.  Here he talks about the setting and how inspirational it can be.

  The first time I went to Key West, I was overcome by the magic.

I’m not the biggest fan of Florida, but I’ve always made an exception for Key West. The laid-back attitude, the excellent food, the friendly people, the live music, the history, the folklore, the nightly celebration of sunset—there’s a lot to love.

I took several trips there throughout the 1990s, and just absolutely fell for the place. Besides the fact that it’s beautiful—especially at sunset, which they really do celebrate every single night—there’s so much history and storytelling on the island. It started out as a burial ground for the Calusa tribe—its original name was Cayo Hueso, Spanish for “Bone Key,” anglicized to “Key West” after Spain ceded Florida to the U.S. in 1819. It’s been home to wrecker captains, to rogues and misfits, to treasure hunters and transients, to Naval bases and tons of bars. And it’s got more ghost stories than anyplace this side of New Orleans.

So many colorful characters have called Key West home: author Ernest Hemingway, President Harry S Truman, treasure hunter Mel Fisher, musicians Jimmy Buffett and Michael McCloud, and tons more.

Naturally, it’s the perfect place to set urban fantasy stories. I already had a character in mind, a San Diego-based scuba diver named Cassie Zukav whom I’d used in a story back in 1997. Transplanting her to Key West was no problem—the island is full of people who came to visit and never left, and it was easy enough to have Cassie do that.

Cassie was conceived as a weirdness magnet: crazy-ass stuff happens to her all the time. My plan was to use that as a vehicle for telling stories about the magic that can happen on the island: ghosts, mythical sea creatures, immortal rock-and-rollers, even Norse gods. Plus the Key West standbys of scuba diving and hanging out in your favorite bar and hearing the house band rock it.

To my surprise, the Norse gods kinda took over a bit. Well, okay, it wasn’t that much of a surprise, I guess—the Aesir can be insidious, and if you don’t believe me, just ask Tom Hiddleston. Better still, ask Tom Hiddleston’s fans…

Anyhow, I hit on the notion of Cassie being one of the Dísir, the fate gods of the Norse pantheon, and it all came together. Cassie-as-Dís became the fulcrum of the stories—and it also meant that Loki and Sigyn and Odin would all become recurring characters in Cassie’s life in Key West, along with 1812, the house band at Mayor Fred’s Saloon on Greene Street, whom Cassie never misses if she can.

The result of all this is Ragnarok and Roll: Tales of Cassie Zukav, Weirdness Magnet. It has eight stories, some reprints, some new—plus digging up that old 1997 story that introduced her. In the title story, Cassie finds out that she’s a Dís just in time to stop Loki from bringing about Ragnarok. And then it gets really weird as she encounters a water elemental who wants to kill one of the regulars at Mayor Fred’s (and doom one of 1812 as well), the truth behind one of the great blues legends of the 20th century, the hyper-charging of the ghosts on the island coinciding with visits from Cassie’s twin brother Paul and their parents (who really did name their twin children “Castor” and “Pollux”), plus the tumultuous relationship between Loki and Sigyn and a surprise appearance by Thor the Thunderer.

Be assured that this is only the beginning. Throughout Ragnarok and Roll you’ll see references to other adventures Cassie has had, and I do plan to tell those (particularly the one about FBI Special Agent Rance Demitrijian—who is not Cassie’s boyfriend, really!—being naked on the boardwalk after being ravaged by a nixie), plus there’s lots more stuff that can still happen on Key West.

If you want to sample one of Cassie’s stories, check out the first part of the three-part “Cayo Hueso” arc—”A Farewell to Cats” is available for Kindle or Nook for only $.99. The second part, “The Buck Stops Here” will be available this week (also for $.99), with Part 3, “Twisting Fate,” coming next week (guess the price—oh, c’mon, guess!). Or you can just go ahead and order the full collection of Ragnarok and Roll with all nine stories from the fine folks at Plus One Press in either trade paperback or eBook form from Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

And hey, if you’re in the New York City area, there are two launch parties for the collection this week: Tuesday the 20th at the SoHo Gallery for Digital Art at 138 Sullivan Street in the SoHo section of Manhattan at 7pm, and Friday the 23rd at Singularity & Co. at 18 Bridge Street in the DUMBO section of Brooklyn, also at 7pm. All are welcome!