Larissa Ione's Blog, page 13

A Giveaway Today!

Hi Everyone!

Over on Crissi's blog, she's celebrating Christmas with several days and several authors, and today is my day. I'm giving away winner's choice of a signed book or a tote. All you have to do is answer this question:

In the Christmas Carol "Winter Wonderland", where did the blue birds go and who came to stay?

But…and this is important…reply at CRISSI'S BLOG. If you reply here, your entry won't count.

And yes, it's open internationally.

So anyway, go forth and spread some Christmas cheer!

Literary Escapism's Awesome Charity Contest

Hey, all!

Just wanted to point you to the Literary Escapism blog, where a bazillion authors (including me) are participating in an AWESOME giveaway with prize packs that are crazy cool. I mean, there are gobs of signed books, bookplates, tote bags, buttons, bookmarks, Tim Tams, and even gift certificates.

Plus, it's all for a good cause, so I hope you can help out!

Off to do a little cyber-Monday shopping and then write. Funny how books don't revise themselves…

Shopping!!!!!

Hi everyone!

Hope those who celebrate had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We had a very nice one — stayed home and had a HUGE dinner for just the three of us. I'm STILL full.

Now I'm doing some online shopping — I'm so NOT going out of the house to deal with Christmas shoppers. *shudders* I've gotten some good deals so far, so pretty happy about that.

I do want to remind people that if you're shopping at Amazon, PLEASE do it by going through the link at the bottom left sidebar of my blog. If you click that link to go to Amazon, the ASPCA will get a portion of your sales, and they even get paid with click-thru's. It costs you nothing, but the ASPCA will benefit greatly. It's a fabulous way to donate to a charity without anything coming out of your own pocket!

Okay, so I'm off to shop. Have a great weekend, everyone!

Guest Zoe Winters (and Contest!)

Why Vampires Just Won't Die

I fell in love with vampires through Buffy… or more specifically… Spike on Buffy. Wait… that sounded wrong. But really, that was a lot of the appeal. I mean they knocked down a building fighting and having sex. That's pretty hot. Sorry, where was I?

Oh yeah. Vampires. Before watching Buffy, I never saw vampires as "sexy". But then, suddenly I did. I got so obsessed with Buffy that I thought, "That's what I really wish I could write, but everyone will think I'm trying to be like Anne Rice. Rice already did it."

In hindsight this is pretty funny. I had no idea the vampire craze, far from being over, was just getting started. I even went out of my way "not" to write vampires at first because I didn't want to be seen as jumping on a bandwagon. The soon-to-be-released second book of my series, Save My Soul, was written first.

It features an incubus that is trapped in a house by a 50-yr-old curse. My reasoning was that an incubus is "kind of" like a vampire but not the exact same thing so it would be different enough that people would just give the story a chance rather than think I was trying to hop on the vampire fad.

Then after I'd written Save My Soul, Larissa Ione came out with "Pleasure Unbound" which was about an incubus. And I was like: CRAP. Dammit! "People will think I'm copying her!"

To my extreme relief, upon reading the book, I found Larissa's incubus stuff is very different from mine. (Though hers totally rock!) But then I watched Gilmore Girls and discovered Save My Soul has a "Buffy meets Gilmore Girls" feel to it. *head desk*

Once I fully understood that there were no new ideas, I settled down on the whole vampire issue. Which is good, because they're probably here to stay.

I had been through a few rounds of edits for Save My Soul when I heard about a contest one of the big romance epublishers was running. They wanted novellas about werecats. This was how Kept, my first novella in Blood Lust (first book in my series) came about. I thought… "Werecats aren't vampires! Yes!"

Though by this time I had chilled on vampires enough to introduce one, Anthony, as a side character in Kept. Anthony is the hero in the second novella and plays a much larger role in my expanding world.

I've finally lost the fear of writing vampires because vampires just won't die. Like Dracula, you think you've killed them. But then they rise up out of the mist again. I think there are a few logical reasons for this.

Vampires are about all the things we desperately crave: immortality with eternal youth and health. Vampires help us confront our darker selves and our primal sexual urges. They help us make sense of an increasingly scary world where it's sometimes nice to think about a silly non-threat like vampires or a zombie apocalypse, instead of all the crazy crap going on in the world today.

Vampires also speak to our need for connection. In most mythologies vampires can not only enthrall their victims and pets, but they can create a link or bond to someone through blood exchange. This connection shines a light on our desire to be protected and cared for. If a vampire has a blood link with you, he can find you anywhere and protect you from the big, bad world.

The vampire mythology is one of the most seductive mythologies around. The extent to which werewolves, demons, and other creatures capture our imagination seems to hinge on how well they meet the same needs vampires do.

So if you think you're tired of vampires, maybe what you're tired of isn't vampires themselves, but the idea that they should still be a novelty or fad, instead of what they are: an enduring myth that some part of our psyche seems to need. Just as we'll never tire of stories about humans, stories about vampires will never stop being written.

Now that I've gotten all blah blah on you, in gearing up for the release of Save My Soul, I'm doing a newsletter drive and contest from my blog.

The rules are simple. Send a blank email to newsletterdrive@gmail.com

You'll be subscribed to my newsletter (which you can later unsub from if my writing isn't right for you or you just don't want the newsletter), get a free digital copy of Kept, and be entered to win 10 paranormal romance books (paperback). The winner gets to choose the books!

You can also enter the secondary contest where I'll be drawing 10 winners to receive a signed print copy of Blood Lust, which is an anthology of my three novellas: Kept, Claimed, and Mated, OR a signed print copy of Save My Soul when it comes out.

For full contest details and rules, please visit my blog: http://zoewinters.wordpress.com (Post stickied to the top)

Eternal Rider UK Cover

Squee! I always love getting a new cover, but for some reason UK covers really excite me. So here's the UK version of Eternal Rider. Yay!!!

Also, the Bookie Awards are now open for voting! I'm up in several categories against some really AWESOME authors, and it's an honor to be included!

Also, there's an interview and contest over at Once Upon A Chapter, so head on over and enter! You have to scroll down to get to the interview and contest.

Hope everyone's week got off to a great start! We're gearing up for Thanksgiving…still not sure if we're driving to the in-laws' place or not. For some reason, my husband's boat can't seem to decide on whether it'll be in or out on Friday, which makes it hard to plan. I'm getting kind of frustrated, to be honest. Grr. Oh, well, I knew what I was getting into when I married a military guy!

Have a happy Thanksgiving to everyone who celebrates it!

Hugs,

Larissa

Supernatural Anthology

I have news! Yay!

The Supernatural anthology, which will contain stories by me, Jacquelyn Frank, Alexandra Ivy, and G.A. Aiken is up for pre-order on Amazon! No cover yet, but hopefully we'll have something soon. And I'll finally give you a little hint about my story — here's a blurb…it's not the official one, though, and not sure the title will stick, either. I hope to have that information soon, as well.

VAMPIRE FIGHT CLUB

Dangerous obsession…

Vladlena Paskelkov is a shapeshifter with a gentle, sheltered heart. As a nurse at Underworld General Hospital, which caters to terrifying supernatural creatures, she is sometimes faced with horrifying medical situations. But with a new rash of violence bringing in victims too far gone to save, including her brother, she is tasked by UG's head doctor to investigate.

Investigation means going undercover in a vampire dance club as an in-house medic – where she meets her boss, a handsome, dangerous vamp named Nathan, who she quickly learns to both despise…and want. But as her fantasies heat up with every brush of his fingers, she closes in on the truth behind the club – and she finds herself plunged into a bloody, brutal world of life and death where only the strongest survive.

Dangerous world…

Nathan Sabine, a vampire, is second in command of an underworld fight organization that exists behind the veneer of a legitimate vampire social club. He hates the life, hates the illegal operation, but he's eager for revenge, and he's biding his time until he can bring the entire business down. The violence and death have hardened him to the point where he doesn't have any emotion left, but something about the beautiful shapeshifter intrigues him.

Even though Vladlena is an underworld being, she doesn't fit in, and at first, he's determined to toughen her up, an undertaking his cold, callous side relishes. But when he finds her in one of the bait cages, forced to fight for her life, the shield around his heart cracks, and he must choose between taking his revenge, or saving a female who, even if she survives her ordeal, may still be destroyed.

Fun and Awesome News!

Hi everyone!

I have three bits of awesomeness to blog about today, which is good, because my blood pressure is seriously up after dealing with my husband's job and our medical insurance company today. So this is a welcome distraction!

Okay, news tidbit #1: Do you watch NO ORDINARY FAMILY? Well, I do, and I've heard that in the December 7th episode, you might see Sin Undone! Apparently, they're doing a bookstore scene, and Grand Central Publishing's books are being used. How cool is that? Will have to tape the show and analyze every scene…

News tidbit #2: I'm still practically shaking about this one! Sin Undone was named one of Amazon's Best 10 Romances for all of 2010!!!! Wow! I didn't even check the list when it came out because I knew I wouldn't be on it. It wasn't until someone congratulated me on Facebook that I looked. Sin has really had a great year!

News tidbit #3: I've been named Master of Ceremonies for the Authors After Dark 2011 event! This will take place August 11-14 in Philadelphia, and I hope you can attend. It'll be lots of fun, and I'll have lots of swag and goodies, and there will be parties and food…and likely, me making a fool of myself. (I am, after all, the moron who managed to break both arms at my high school reunion last summer. Who knows what I'll do at a conference like this…) For more information, click here. Oh, and go bug Stephanie Tyler. I'm trying to get her to go with me!

Gotta write now. Having fun with the second LOD book. I can hear my editor's voice in my head already: "Chains? Again?"

FAQ's…AKA The Official Word

Ever have one of those days where you just need to procrastinate? Yeah, I'm having one of those days. I need to be writing a book, *looks around for editor* but I'm kind of getting flooded with emails from awesome readers who all have similar questions.

So, in an effort to both procrastinate AND answer questions, I've done an FAQ post that I can point people to and hopefully answer the most common questions. I should put them in the FAQ section of my website, but that would make too much sense.

Actually, I'll do that soon, when I get a chance to update my website. In the meantime…

*

~FAQ #1: Is Sin Undone the last book in the Demonica series?

~ANSWER: Erm…well…sort of. See, here's the deal: The Lords of Deliverance series, which starts with Eternal Rider in April 2011, is set in the Demonica world and features a lot of the main characters. You WILL see the old characters, many of whom play large roles, so you'll be caught up on who gets pregnant, gets mated, etc. Basically, the Lords of Deliverance is a continuation of the Demonica series, even though it features new players. I do plan a Demonica novella that'll release next fall in an anthology with Alexandra Ivy, GA Aiken, and Jacquelyn Frank, and then I would really like to do a book for Reaver and MAYBE books for the Sem kids. The possibility for more Demonica books truly rests with how good my sales are and if the publisher wants more of them.

~FAQ #2: Will the Demonica series be released in audio book format?

~ANSWER: Yes! Sin Undone is available now, and the rest of the series will release next February.

~FAQ #3: Will you release your books (print or ebook) in other countries?

~ANSWER: Well, the long, complicated answer is…the rights have to be bought by publishers/bookstores in various countries. However, translations will soon be available in several countries, including Turkey, Germany, France, Spain, Japan, and Thailand. Also, in the UK and her Commonwealth countries, both print and ebooks will be available next year.

~FAQ #4: Will you make your series into movies?

~ANSWER: OMG, I would LOVE that! Unfortunately, I have no control. The film rights have to be bought by a Hollywood-type. But fingers crossed that it happens!

~FAQ #5: Will Tayla and Eidolon ever get pregnant?

~ANSWER: You'll get some baby news about several couples in Eternal Rider!

*

Okay, that's all I can think of for now, but I hope these help answer questions!

Happy reading, everyone!!!!

Time to Write a Book!

Well, it's that time of year again — National Novel Writing Month! If you are trying to get a book written, this is the time to do it. The energy cyclone from hundreds of writers who are scrambling to get 50,000 words written in a month can sweep you up and give you that boost you need.

Me? I'm not participating officially, but since I HAVE to get 60K written this month, I might as well be. And since I have to write 60K this month…well, I'm going to be a bit on the absent side.

So good luck to all of those who are participating, and for everyone else, I'll pop in when I can. (Oh, and I promise I'll have updates on the ebook release of Eternity Embraced later this month!)

Happy reading and writing, everyone!

Larissa

Awesome News!

Hi everyone!

I have some really, really exciting news that will make a lot of overseas readers happy.

I just learned that the Demonica and Lords of Deliverance series will be released as their own editions in the UK and her Commonwealth countries! That means new covers, better availability…AND same day Kindle releases. So everyone who has had trouble getting my books on Kindle in those countries will now be able to get them.

Here's the release schedule:

Eternal Rider, April 2011

Sin Undone, July 2011

Pleasure Unbound, August 2011

Desire Unchained, September 2011

Passion Unleashed, October 2011

Ecstasy Unveiled, December 2011

Immortal Rider, December 2011 (title subject to change)

So anyway, that's the news! I'll post covers when I get them!