Rachel Vincent's Blog, page 17

Better late than...you know.

Well, I am just a big bundle of forgetfulness lately, and I must apologize. I got busy writing Before I Wake yesterday and forgot to post this week’s giveaway. I also forgot to notify the reviewers who were chosen to receive ARCs of Blood Bound. However, I’ve now emailed all the reviewers (check your email if you filled out the form!) and am about to post the giveaway. First, though, a word about how the reviewers were chosen.

First of all, I don’t consider the reviewer giveaway to have been a contest, which means there were no winners and no losers. What happened is this: Mira Books found some extra ARCs and asked if I’d like to have them. I squealed for a minute, then said YES!! THANK YOU!! Then the box arrived and there were more ARCs than I’d expected, and I decided the bulk of them should go to reviewers.

Now, I give stuff away here all the time. Weekly, just about. And I ship internationally at no cost to the winner, and there are absolutely no strings attached to 99.9% of the giveaways I host. So I didn’t feel too terribly bad about attaching one string to this review copy giveaway. With this giveaway, I asked the reviewers to commit to reviewing the book before Sept. 8, 2011. And here’s why: For every single ARC I give to a blog reviewer, there are dozens (sometimes hundreds, literally) of blog reviewers who wanted that same ARC and are willing to review it. So, with the release coming up in six short weeks, I needed to make sure that Blood Bound would be getting some face time on the internet. These copies needed to go to people who actually have the time and interest to review it during that critical two-week period surrounding the release.

I’m probably not supposed to admit this online, but frankly, I’m kinda worried about this series. People who didn’t like Shifters aren’t likely to try my new series, because let’s face it, there are lots of other books out there written by authors they already know they like. I understand that. But there’s also a good chance that people who loved Shifters won’t like Unbound precisely because it isn’t Shifters. So, branching out with a new adult series feels like a huge risk for me. I’m trying to give Blood Bound the best possible wings before I push it out of the nest. And I greatly appreciate everyone out there trying to help me do that.

The reviewers were chosen based on a variety of things, including the size of the blog audience; the professionalism of past reviews; and enthusiasm for reading in general, and the genre in particular. And…I also threw in a couple of copies for people who’ve been with me from the beginning–names I recognize from interaction on my discussion group, Twitter, and/or Facebook.

For the record, the reviewers chosen are NOT obligated to give a favorable review. Honesty and punctuality are all that I ask.

Okay, now for this week’s giveaway.

Today, I have a signed set of the first three books in the Soul Screamers series, UK edition.

If you want these books, leave me a comment in the corresponding Wordpress blog telling me why. I’ll choose a winner at random on Monday.

***

In other news, I wrote 5,000+ words on Before I Wake yesterday, and here’s where it stands:

 

10270 / 90000
(11.41%)

I’m kind of hoping for another productive day today. Wish me luck!

Glass Houses

A few minutes, ago, I got this comment on Formspring:

I don’t always agree with your characters’ choices, but I am *so* glad
that in your books Big Things Happen all the way through and not just 200 pages
in or 10 pages from the end! Your books are never, ever dull & I’m thankful.

I answered the comment on Formspring, but I thought the comment was worth discussing here too. So here goes…

First of all, for the record, I love this comment and I recognize it as a compliment, so if my thoughts veer from the original topic, please forgive me and don’t take that as a criticism of the comment above.

I think my worst professional fears (other than readers not being able to find my books) are the fear of mediocrity and the fear of writing dull books. I write genre fiction for a reason. Genre readers LOVE their genre (be it westerns, sci-fi, romance, fantasy, or some combination) and are very, very loyal readers. Also, the stories are fun. Not necessarily light, but fun. They should be, anyway. In my head, good genre fiction=fun. So being told that my books are never dull makes me smile from ear to ear.

Second of all, I get comments like this a lot, usually much less politely stated and without the compliment. Usually, the comments are referring to Faythe (from the Shifters series), who starts out kind of spoiled and selfish (but there’s a reason for both) and matures into her intended roll over the course of the series. This used to bother me. But it doesn’t anymore, and here’s why: I don’t always agree with my characters’ choices either.

I don’t write books from my own perspective. I write from my characters’ perspectives, and they and I have had very different life experiences. My characters, much like my family, friends, and even myself, often make choices I don’t like/wouldn’t make again if I could have a re-do. That’s because I want my characters (much like my family, friends, and myself) to be realistic, not perfect. Who wants to read about perfect characters doing perfect things? If they never make mistakes (though there must be a good reason for their mistakes to keep them sympathetic), how is the reader supposed to identify with them?

Maybe when I find a reader who’s never made a mistake, I’ll write a book with a perfect character in it, just for that one reader. Until then, I’ll keep thinking of my characters as human–even if they’re really werecats, or bean sidhes, or reapers. And I appreciate each and every reader who recognizes that characters are people too.

***

On another note, after I finished the BEFORE I WAKE synopsis last night, I started the actual novel. Here’s where it stands now, and I hope to add another 2,000+ words before the end of the night.

3,123 / 90,000
(3.47%)

BEFORE I WAKE is due October 1, so I’ll be working pretty steadily on that, but there’s also a novella due in August, so I’ll be doing that on the weekends as well.

Check in tomorrow for this week’s giveaway!

Tod's victory teaser!

I’m still going through the entries for review copies of Blood Bound, but I’ve drawn winners for the giveaway at the Deadline Dames site last week. They’ll be posted there today, hopefully, but here they are, just in case:

Laura Watters, who wrote, “really looking forward to unbound, really want to know how the word, blood promise works.”

And…

Jamie B, who wrote, “Congrats on turning in Shadow Bound!!”

Laura and Jamie, please email me (rachelkvincentATgmailDOTcom) with your shipping information, and I’ll put your ARCs in the mail.

Also, Tod won his first stage in the YA Crush Tournament last week, so I owe everyone a Tod-centric teaser. This was harder to come up with than it sounds, because I’m staunchly anti-spoiler, and most of his best lines in If I Die are quite spoilery. So, here’s what I came up with. I hope you like it. Tod and I both thank you for the victory! ;)

“So what’s the plan?” Tod asked, as we
stared at the building, sitting side by side on the hood of my car.

I shrugged. “Nothing complicated. You
get me in, we find Farrah, I ask her questions.”

“Sounds simple enough.”

“If you don’t count the million and one
things that could go wrong. How long can you keep me invisible?”

“As long as we’re in physical contact.”

My throat felt suddenly dry. “Holding
hands?” That’s how we’d done it last time.

“Unless you had something else in mind.”

“I…” Words deserted me until he grinned,
and I realized he was kidding. “No wonder you and Nash can’t get along.”

“We get along.” He brushed that one
stubborn curl back from his forehead. “We just don’t agree on anything.”

“That doesn’t make any sense.”

“It would if you had a brother.”

Deadlines, ARCs, and Crushes

First, the good news: I TURNED IN THE SHADOW BOUND MANUSCRIPT YESTERDAY! I cannot tell you what a relief that is. This was a very difficult story to write, for many reasons, including the characters’ personal traumas, the difficulty of writing from two 1st person points of view, getting to know brand new characters (as opposed to continuing the primary characters points of view from the first book in the series) and a very tight deadline. The book isn’t perfect, but it’s delivered.

Yay!!!

Unfortunately, I’m already a week behind on two different deadlines. The next Soul Screamers novella is due in August, and BEFORE I WAKE (Soul Screamers book 6) is due October 1st. So, as usual, I have a ton of work to do.

But, today I have a surprise! Mira Books sent me more Blood Bound ARCs, and I would like most of them to go to reviewers. So, if you’re a reviewer (online or in print) and you’d like a chance to win an ARC copy of Blood Bound for review, fill out the form here, and read the paragraph at the top. The details aren’t complicated, but they are important.

Please note: this giveaway is for reviewers who can commit to reviewing the book (a positive review is NOT required) within a week of its US/UK release. If you can’t do that, head on over to the Deadline Dames site, where I’ll be giving away a couple more, with no obligation to review.

***

Also, if you’re into this kind of thing, today Tod is being pitted against Daniel (from Fallen? I haven’t read it, so I’m not familiar…) in The YA Sisterhood’s YA crush tournament. If you’re interested, you can vote for him here. You can vote as often as you want, and you can leave comments (but let’s keep it civil, please).

And since Tod’s such a long shot (Let’s face it, Lauren Kate’s readership is GINORMOUS), if he wins, I’ll release a brand new Tod-centric teaser from If I Die.

Shiny and new!

Two things for today. First of all, with my deadline and the holiday weekend, I forgot to post a winner to the RWA Con-solation Week day 4 prize. So, without further delay, the winner of a signed ARC of Blood Bound is:

Zara will be notified of her win via email. Thanks so much to everyone who entered the giveaways and sympathized with my RWA withdrawals last week!

Second…I have a shiny new website! The goal with this new look is functionality. I wanted readers to be able to tell at a glance exactly what I’ve written, what I have coming up, and what order the books go in. Hopefully, we’ve accomplished that, as well as made purchasing the books and reading the excerpts easy and convenient.

Speaking of excerpts, if you take a look at the new website design, you might just notice a brand new first chapter excerpt for a certain new adult urban fantasy series I have coming up. I’m not going to link to it. You’ll have to click around and find it.

The site is functional and mostly complete, but there are still a few bugs to work out, and a few extras that have yet to be loaded. Also, I’ve found a couple of typos. But if you can forgive those for the moment, I hope you enjoy the new site!

RWA Con-solation Week: Day 4

Thanks to everyone who entered yesterday’s RWA Con-solation Day 1 drawing! The winner of a copy of the Kiss Me Deadly anthology is #73 out of 147 entries:

 

Catarina will be notified via email of her win.

My last ARC!

Today’s RWA Con-solation Week Day 4 prize is an ARC of Blood Bound, book one in my new adult urban fantasy series, set to debut this fall.

There’s a possibility that I may receive a few more ARCs shortly, but at the moment, this is my last one, so it feels appropriate to offer it on the last day of RWA Con-solation Week.

To enter the giveaway, fill out the form found here. You must be 16 or older to enter, and if you’re under 18, you must have a parent’s permission.

RWA Con-solation Week: Day 3

Thanks to everyone who entered yesterday’s RWA Con-solation Day 1 drawing! The winner of an ARC of My Soul To Steal is #76 out of 154 entries:

 

Rosemary will be notified of her win by email and she has one week from today to claim her prize.

Today’s RWA Con-solation Week Day 2 prize is a copy of the Kiss Me Deadly YA anthology.

Paranormal YA anthology

My contribution to the anthology is a short story called “Fearless,” which is Sabine’s first appearance in the Soul Screamers world. I wrote this because I thought she deserved to be seen through her own eyes before we saw her through Kaylee’s eyes in My Soul To Steal.

Other authors include: Sarah Rees Brennan, Becca Fitzpatrick, Caitlin Kittredge, Karen Mahoney, Daniel Marks, Justine Musk, Diana Peterfreund, Michelle Rowen, Carrie Ryan, Magge Steifvater, Daniels Waters, and Michelle Zink.

To enter to win the anthology, fill out the form here.

RWA Con-solation Week: Day 2

Thanks to everyone who entered yesterday’s RWA Con-solation Day 1 drawing! The winner of an ARC of Enthralled is #58 out of 203 entries:

Vanessa will be notified of her win by email and she has one week from today to claim her prize.

Today’s RWA Con-solation prize is a signed, personalized ARC of My Soul To Steal. Yes, an ARC. When I was cleaning my office last week, I found an ARC I evidently neglected to give away during the pre-release madness, and now it’s just taking up space. So, if you’re interested (they’re kind of cool, in that they’re different from the final printed version), fill out the form here.

International entries are fine, but you must be 13 or older to enter.

And now I’m ducking back into my deadline cave until tomorrow.

RWA Con-solation Week: Day 1

First of all, I’m sorry for my recent absence from the blog. SHADOW BOUND is due just days from now, and I’m thoroughly immersed in deadline panic. Parts of the book are in their second draft. Others are more than five drafts along. And my CP, Rinda Elliot, deserves some kind of medal for critiquing for me, once again. I kind of hate it that my CP–one of my best friends–sees my books in their very worst condition. Always. And because she’s busy like everyone else, she rarely has time to reread the finished version, so I’m pretty sure she must think I thoroughly suck.

But, all that aside, this week most of my writer friends left for the RWA National Conference. Due to back-to-back deadlines, I don’t have time for much travel this year, so I’m not going. Which is going to make the constant tweets and photo updates kind of hard to bear. So, I’m cheering myself up with an RWA Con-solation week!

I will give away one book every day of the 2011 RWA National Conference (June 28-July 1), to someone who wasn’t able to attend. In short, if you’re not going to RWA National for whatever reason (even if you’ve never heard of it) you can enter. But you must be 13 or older to win YA prizes and 16 or older to win non-YA prizes (and have a parent’s permission in both instances).

Up today: An ARC of Enthralled

To enter today’s giveaway, fill out this form.

About the prize:

Enthralled: Paranormal Diversions, a young adult anthology edited by Kelley Armstrong and Melissa Marr, composed of stories by some of the best writers in paranormal YA. (I am both flabbergasted and thrilled to be included.) You can read more about how the anthology came to be here, on Melissa’s blog.

My contribution is a Soul Screamers short story featuring Emma and Sabine on a road trip detour through Niederwald, a tiny, creepy town in Texas where the barrier between our world and the Netherworld is very thin.

Almost two years ago, when I moved to San Antonio, I passed a sign on the highway for an exit to a town called Niederwald, and I knew from that moment on that I wanted to write a story set in a fictional version of that town. Enthralled gave me that chance.

The stories in the anthology include:

Giovanni’s Farewell by Claudia Gray
Scenic Route by Carrie Ryan
IV League by Margaret Stohl
Red Run by Kami Garcia
Things About Love by Jackson Pearce
Niederwald by Rachel Vincent
A Mortal Winter King by Melissa Marr
Facing Facts by Kelley Armstrong
Let’s Get This Undead Show on the Road by Sarah Rees Brennan
Bridge by Jeri Smith-Ready
Skin Contact by Kimberly Derting
Leaving by Ally Condie
At the Late Night, Double Feature, Picture Show by Jessica Verday
Gargouille by Mary E. Pearson
The Third Kind by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Automatic by Rachel Caine

Redrawn winners!

Last week, two prizes went unclaimed, which always makes me sad. But on the bright side, I got to draw two new winners!

Melanie Hall has already been notified through email that she won the redraw for an ARC of Blood Bound, so I’m hoping she’ll respond. Though the previous winner’s email notification went unanswered.

However, I might need help getting ahold of the redraw winner of Raised By Wolves, Trial By Fire, and winner’s choice of any of my own already-released books. If you know the following winner, please tweet her, or email her, or leave her a message and let her know to check in here for instructions on claiming her prize.

The winner is:

Rissa, please email me (rachelkvincentATgmailDOTcom) with your shipping information and your choice of book from my backlist.

To everyone else, I’m sorry for the silence this week. I had company from out-of-town for the first half of the week and have been playing catch up ever since. However, I still have several ARCs and tons of foreign editions to give away, and we’ll do several of them next week!