Rachel Vincent's Blog, page 23

More pretties!

Okay, how pretty is the UK cover for My Soul to Steal? (Thanks to Natashya for tracking it down, and to Jenny for sending it!)


I swear, it feels like I'm finding new international covers almost daily lately, but I think this may be my favorite one so far. (I think it's out in July.) I love how well it fits with the other UK covers and how the colors still coordinate with the US covers. I'm not sure why there's a butterfly (other than that it's pretty) but I must admit that I'm now tempted to write some kind of deadly butterfly creature into the Netherworld, just so I can fully claim this image as MINE! ;)
Thanks, Mira Ink, it's gorgeous!!!
FYI, here are the other UK covers:



Also, I now have confirmation (thanks again, Natashya!) that the Soul Screamers books will be coming out in Germany starting with MSTTake this October (2011) and it looks like they'll be using the UK cover art. So, yay Germany! MSTTake will be my first German release. ;)
And, I found this online yesterday when I was wasting time taking a break from the BLOOD BOUND revisions (due today!) It's the Italian cover for Pride (Graffio sulla pelle), out Feb 25, 2011.

Soul Screamers bonus content

Today, I'm up early to finish revisions on BLOOD BOUND (the new adult book), which are due by EOB today. On Friday, I got revisions for IF I DIE. When it rains, it... you know. ;)

The good news is that the revisions on IF I DIE look pretty simple. A new opener with a better hook, some clarification/explanation on the climactic chapters, and an expanded ending. Evidently I left a little too much of a cliffhanger. But my editor's reactions to certain events in the book are very...encouraging. This book is a game changer (I know I keep saying that, but it's still true!) for nearly every character in the series.

Are some people going to be mad? Probably. Are some people going to be happy? Definitely. Am I going to get more of that mail that reads, "I laughed/cried/covered my eyes/threw the book/yelled at people who aren't real!" Almost certainly.

Sampling of omments from my editor, in the margins of IF I DIE:
"Wow, Sabine's dialogue must be fun to write!""I've wanted to see this for a long time!""Wow! Wasn't expecting that...""So very cool!""Awww! Heartbreaking!""I'm tearing up!""Definitely creepy..."

In case you can't tell, I'm having SO much fun with the Soul Screamers books, and IF I DIE may be the funniest, saddest, most shocking one yet. IMO. ;)

And yes, I'll post the back cover blurb as soon as I'm sure it's final.

On another topic, #1's been working on my website a bit this weekend, and on Saturday he posted something pretty awesome on the extras page. It's a flash-run version of the Netherworld Survival Guide (penned by Alec during his time in the Netherworld) that was printed as bonus content in the back of the UK edition of MSTTake. Click the small image on my home page, and you'll be directed to the guide. It may take a minute to load.

Once it's loaded (it'll look like a file folder), click and drag the center of the folder to open it. The corners of the pages will curl when you hover over them. Again, click and drag to flip the pages. Careful, though. They can be ripped out. If you accidentally "drop" a sheet, reload the page and you should be good to go.

Cool, huh?

 

Soul Screamers bonus content

Today, I'm up early to finish revisions on BLOOD BOUND (the new adult book), which are due by EOB today. On Friday, I got revisions for IF I DIE. When it rains, it... you know. ;)

The good news is that the revisions on IF I DIE look pretty simple. A new opener with a better hook, some clarification/explanation on the climactic chapters, and an expanded ending. Evidently I left a little too much of a cliffhanger. But my editor's reactions to certain events in the book are very...encouraging. This book is a game changer (I know I keep saying that, but it's still true!) for nearly every character in the series.

Are some people going to be mad? Probably. Are some people going to be happy? Definitely. Am I going to get more of that mail that reads, "I laughed/cried/covered my eyes/threw the book/yelled at people who aren't real!" Almost certainly.

Comments from my editor, in the margins of IF I DIE:
"Wow, Sabine's dialogue must be fun to write!""I've wanted to see this for a long time!""Wow! Wasn't expecting that...""So very cool!""Awww! Heartbreaking!""I'm tearing up!""Definitely creepy..."

In case you can't tell, I'm having SO much fun with the Soul Screamers books, and IF I DIE may be the funniest, saddest, most shocking one yet. IMO. ;)

And yes, I'll post the back cover blurb as soon as I'm sure it's final.

On another topic, #1's been working on my website a bit this weekend, and on Saturday he posted something pretty awesome on the extras page. It's a flash-run version of the Netherworld Survival Guide (penned by Alec during his time in the Netherworld) that was printed as bonus content in the back of the UK edition of MSTTake. Click the small image on my home page, and you'll be directed to the guide. It may take a minute to load.

Once it's loaded (it'll look like a file folder), click and drag the center of the folder to open it. The corners of the pages will curl when you hover over them. Again, click and drag to flip the pages. Careful, though. They can be ripped out. If you accidentally "drop" a sheet, reload the page and you should be good to go.

Cool, huh?

Chicks Kick Butt antho (& more)

My books continue to be way better traveled than I am! It looks like Stray will soon be out in Sweden, Finland, and Norway, all with the same cover art (a different crop of the art from the US/UK Alpha).

There are also rumors that My Soul To Take will be out in Germany soon as "Mit ganzer Seele," but I have yet to confirm that one, beyond the Twitterverse and Amazon.de. Either way, I find this one fascinating, and a little embarrassing. Tod means "death" in German. I knew that when I wrote the books. That's why I picked his name. But I never thought the books would actually get translated into German. I wonder how weird that will be for those who read it in German?
Also, yesterday Tor unveiled the cover for Chicks Kick Butt! My Abby/Shifters short story is in this one, along with an amazing lineup of other authors/stories. Here's the cover and official blurb:



CHICKS KICK BUTT edited by Kerrie Hughes & Rachel Caine ...(6/11 Tor)

Chicks are awesome & never more so than when they are kicking some serious vampire/werewolf/demon/monster butt. Chicks Kick Butt is an anthology that features one of the best things about the urban fantasy genre--strong, independent, and intelligent heroines who are quite capable of solving their own problems, and slaying their own dragons (or demons, as the case may be).

New stories from Rachel Caine, L.A. Banks, Rachel Vincent, Karen Chance, Lilith Saintcrow, Cheyenne McCray, Susan Krinard, Jeanne Stein, Jenna Black, Elizabeth Vaughan, Carole Nelson, Douglas, P.N. Elrod, Nancy Holder

And...yesterday I spoke to students at O'Connor High School in Helotes, Tx (practically in my backyard) and had a wonderful time. These kids are smart, funny, curious, and enthusiastic. They remind me why I wanted to write for teens in the first place. Their librarian Sheryl is now officially one of my favorite people ever, and that has nothing to do with the gorgeous cake she had made, or the posters, or the giveaways, or the crowd she pulled in, including English teachers and even a couple of parents.

Okay, it has to do with all of that. Thanks Sheryl, and O'Connor, for making my first school visit an event to remember!

 

Chicks Kick Butt antho (& more)

My books continue to be way better traveled than I am! It looks like Stray will soon be out in Sweden, Finland, and Norway, all with the same cover art (a different crop of the art from the US/UK Alpha).

There are also rumors that My Soul To Take will be out in Germany soon as "Mit ganzer Seele," but I have yet to confirm that one, beyond the Twitterverse and Amazon.de. Either way, I find this one fascinating, and a little embarrassing. Tod means "death" in German. I knew that when I wrote the books. That's why I picked his name. But I never thought the books would actually get translated into German. I wonder how weird that will be for those who read it in German?

Also, yesterday Tor unveiled the cover for Chicks Kick Butt! My Abby/Shifters short story is in this one, along with an amazing lineup of other authors/stories. Here's the cover and official blurb:



CHICKS KICK BUTT edited by Kerrie Hughes & Rachel Caine ...(6/11 Tor)

Chicks are awesome & never more so than when they are kicking some serious vampire/werewolf/demon/monster butt. Chicks Kick Butt is an anthology that features one of the best things about the urban fantasy genre--strong, independent, and intelligent heroines who are quite capable of solving their own problems, and slaying their own dragons (or demons, as the case may be).

New stories from Rachel Caine, L.A. Banks, Rachel Vincent, Karen Chance, Lilith Saintcrow, Cheyenne McCray, Susan Krinard, Jeanne Stein, Jenna Black, Elizabeth Vaughan, Carole Nelson, Douglas, P.N. Elrod, Nancy Holder

And...yesterday I spoke to students at O'Connor High School in Helotes, Tx (practically in my backyard) and had a wonderful time. These kids are smart, funny, curious, and enthusiastic. They remind me why I wanted to write for teens in the first place. Their librarian Sheryl is now officially one of my favorite people ever, and that has nothing to do with the gorgeous cake she had made, or the posters, or the giveaways, or the crowd she pulled in, including English teachers and even a couple of parents.

Okay, it has to do with all of that. Thanks Sheryl, and O'Connor, for making my first school visit an event to remember!

FAQ (with foreign release trivia)

January was going to be my vacation month. I was going to do nothing but read for pleasure, watch Netflix, and fiddle around with this new idea in a non-deadline-y, non-stressful way. I was going to sleep in, go beg my hairdresser to do something with my hair, and maybe try out the new mixer I got for Christmas.

Guess what didn't happen.

To be fair, I did finish all four seasons of Prison Break (LOVED the first, was bored by the fourth), attain hard-level skills on the Rock Band keyboard, start learning the pro keyboard, and make it to level 20 in Fallout New Vegas (#1 and I share a character). And I have been working on this new idea. But for all practical purposes, my vacation ended when I started edits on BLOOD BOUND last week.

So, now I'm doing revisions on BLOOD BOUND, critiquing for my CP, working on the new idea, and plotting out the sequel to BLOOD BOUND. I'm starting to feel busy again, which is nice. Still, something must be done about my hair. ;)

Also, I've been answering questions. Tons of them, on Facebook, Formspring, and Twitter. I mostly get release-info questions on Facebook, plot-related questions on Formspring, and ... well, everything on Twitter. I don't mind answering questions. In fact, I like it. It makes me feel interesting and loved. But if you don't mind maybe glancing through what I've already answered before asking your question, that would be awesome. On Blogger, you can just choose the Q&A category from the list on the right. On Formspring, just scroll down (but beware of spoilers).

And, finally, here are a few of the most common questions I've been getting lately, for your convenience. ;)

Is IF I DIE going to be the last Soul Screamers book? I don't know. It's the last one I'm currently contracted for. It's an open ended series, so I could totally write more, but that all depends on sales. The end of IF I DIE is... well, it's the biggest, most shocking thing that's happened in the Soul Screamers world so far. I wrote it so that, if need be, I can end the series there. Or, if I get a chance to write more, the series can take off in a whole new direction.


When can we see the cover for BLOOD BOUND/IF I DIE? Sometime after I see them. Neither book has a cover yet. I have seen a cover concept (a mockup of the general idea) for BLOOD BOUND but it's made with stock images and still has one of the previous titles ideas. So it's no where near final.

When will [insert book title here] be available in my country? Again, I don't know. The publishing industry is a very large, complicated beast, and every writer's/book's journey is different. In my case specifically (this won't hold true for most other authors), both Mira Books (the adult imprint I write for) and Harlequin Teen are divisions of Harlequin, and when we sold my books to Harlequin, we sold them what's known as world rights.

What that means is that Harlequin has the right to publish (or not publish) or to sell (or not sell) my books in any other country in the world. Harlequin is huge. It has divisions in many other countries (UK, France, the Netherlands, Turkey, etc...) so some of my books will be out by Harlequin in places where they have offices. But Harlequin may also choose to sell publication rights to other publishers in countries where they can't publish my books themselves. Or even in countries where they can. For instance, there is an HQ arm in Turkey, but my books are coming out in Turkey through Pegasus (which publishes Becca Fitzpatrick, PC Cast, Stieg Larsson, etc...) not through Harlequin Türkiye.


Here's the other thing: they don't routinely tell me where or when my books will be out in other countries. Most of the time, my editor doesn't even know. Seriously. I found out about my Turkish editions when the translator found me on Facebook. I found out about the French and Italian editions of Stray on Twitter. I discovered the Finnish edition of Stray through a Google Alert just this past Saturday. Rumor has it Stray will soon be in Norway, but I can neither confirm nor deny that rumor, because I have no insider information.


But I can promise you that when I find out about a foreign release, I will announce it. So here's where my books are currently (or soon to be) available.


Stray : US, Canada, UK, France, Italy, Australia/New Zealand, Finland, and Turkey.
Rogue : US, Canada, UK, France, Italy, Australia/NZ, and Turkey
Pride, Prey, Shift, Alpha : US, Canada, UK, and Australia/NZ
Soul Screamers: US, Canada, UK, Australia/NZ, and France

Also, please note that often the foreign editions of books look very different from the US editions, and they often have radically different titles. Examples:



(US, Finnish, French, Italian, Australian)

Notice that the Finnish Stray uses cover art from the US version of Alpha. The Australian covers do something similar after Stray, and the Italian edition of Rogue uses the cover art from the US edition of Shift.

In Finnish, Stray is called "Catgirl." In Italian, it's "Claws of the Panther." In French, Stray is "The Claws of the Night," which, coincidentally, is also what they call the French translation of the old Wes Craven movie Nightmare on Elm Street. Amazon.fr seems to think I wrote them both. ;)

By some other odd coincidence, Craven's latest horror release was called My Soul To Take. Weird, huh?

Guess who just arrived?!

Last May, I had a layover on my flight to New York for BEA. When the plane landed and the flight attendant said we could turn on approved electronic devices, I turned on my phone to find a text message from my best friend of nearly a decade. It was a picture.

It was a pregnancy test, with two lines.

That's it. No note.

Last night, she gave birth to a beautiful baby boy, her third child, her second son, and a guaranteed heartbreaker. And I'm not just saying that because she named him Jace. (His middle name was chosen to honor his late maternal grandfather, and I get teary just thinking about that.)

I wanted to be there yesterday sooo badly. I checked my phone obsessively for messages. I texted her husband all day (didn't want to bug her with texts during labor...). I sent flowers. I pretended I was being productive, when really I was imagining the new baby. And finally, he arrived. The new (again) daddy texted me a picture during dinner.

So my good news for this week is that baby Jace arrived, happy and healthy, a beloved brother, son, nephew, and grandson from the moment of birth. He could not be more adorable. He could not be more loved. And he could not be in better hands.

Congratulations, Kim!

From the mouths of babes...

Over the holidays, an adorable little person in my life asked me an interesting question: "Why are there so many words that all mean the same thing?"

It's difficult to explain to a young child about nuance, emphasis, etymology, colloquial and formal use, and regional dialect. But his question fascinated me and made me think about the way I (and others) use words. About how I agonize over individual phrases in a manuscript, determined to use the best possible combination of words to express not just the meaning I want to impart, but the tone.

As a writer, it's my responsibility not to settle for just words that "will do." If I have to say the phrase, "They'll know what I mean," I know I'm not doing my job. Not expressing myself to the best of my ability. Instead of relying on my own communication skills, I'm relying on the reader to guess my intent. And that's doing both the reader and my work a disservice. It's implying that nothing beyond the one-dimensional meaning of the words is important, and unless you're writing technical instructions, that's rarely the case.

So I told this lethally cute little bundle of curiosity the truth, as best I could. I told him that words have power, and the more of them we know how to use, the more power we have. I told him that we were lucky to speak a language with so many synonyms because the more ways there are to say something, the more clearly we're able to express what we're thinking.

"Imagine if the word 'big' had no synonyms," I said. "If that were the case, you could tell me you were reading a big book, but I'd have no idea how big that book really is. It could be big compared to a Little Golden Book. Or it could be big compared to Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows."

"But Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows is huge!" the child said, and I nodded.

"Some might even call it gigantic, or enormous. Big doesn't quite seem to cover it, huh?"

The child smiled at me, then promptly lost interest in the conversation. But I didn't. And I'm kind of hoping that maybe—just maybe—I've created one more budding logophile.

P.S.

Unbound FAQ

Wow. My readers are awesomely perceptive. I like it. ;)

Yesterday I released the first bit of news about my new adult series debuting this fall (if you missed it, the announcement is here) and it seems some of you picked up on the fact that I left a few things out.

Yes, I mostly talked about world-building. And yes, I only talked about a couple of aspects of that world-building. And no, I didn't go much into the other paranormal aspects or what the characters are/do. That's because my editor asked me not to give too much away, and I'm not really sure how much is too much. But what I will say about a person's word being his or her literal bond (the original kernel of thought for my world-building) is that it's not as simple as a pinky promise. Not every promise is binding, and of those that are, there are varying degrees of strength for these bonds. Thus the title, BLOOD BOUND.

I gave a vague plot summary because while we had a working back cover copy (plot summary) a few months ago, the book itself took a bit of a turn from the original projection, so we may have to rewrite that cover copy and I'm not sure how much Mira Books will want to give away there and how much they'll want to hold back.

Some common questions I've been asked since the announcement:

What POV is the book in? Right now, it's dual 1st person POV, alternating irregularly from Olivia to Cam. That could change. I've never done more than on POV on a novel, and if my editor thinks it would be better to change it, I'll change it during the edits.

What are the characters (re: paranormal abilities/species)? They are human+. But not anything you'd know from other books or movies. That's all I can say right now.
Will BLOOD BOUND be available in electronic/audio formats? I can't swear to it, but based on the fact that all my other books have been and the Unbound books are with the same publisher, I would guess that yes, they'll be available in those formats. Though I couldn't say when.What do you mean by "twisted?" Will it be too gory for me? Regarding physical violence and gore, Unbound is no more "twisted" than the Shifters series. Maybe less. IMO, BLOOD BOUND is more emotionally/psychologically twisted. When can we see the cover? Some time after I see it. If it's done yet, I haven't heard. So we're in for a bit of a wait on that.

Questions I'm not prepared to answer yet:

Will sequels be written from the same POV(s) or from different characters' POV(s)?
How many books will there be in this series?
When will they be out in the UK (France, Italy, etc...)?

I can't answer any of those yet because it's simply too early. I haven't even truly plotted out the second book yet. My editor hasn't finished reading the first book yet. To my knowledge, no one else at Mira has even seen the manuscript yet. So it's a little early to talk about sequels and foreign sales, at least in this particular case.

What I can say is that if sequels do take different POV(s), which is a possibility, the main characters from BLOOD BOUND will have much more than cameo roles.

Okay, did I cover everything?

Also...THANK YOU all so much for the enthusiasm. I was really nervous about the announcement, and you've all made me feel so much better. ;)

Okay, here goes...

Okay, I know some of you have been waiting awhile for me to reveal some details about my new adult series. That time has come. But first let me apologize for the wait. I'm kind of nervous about this. These new books are a very big departure from the Shifters series, and an even bigger departure from the Soul Screamers series.

Part of the reason I'm nervous is that while my blog following isn't huge, usually when I make an announcement (new sale, list placement, new cover, etc…) it finds its way to many other parts of the internet, which then bounce back to me through Google Alerts and forwards from friends and readers. I don't mind this. I like it, in fact. The more the word spreads, the better my chance of reaching new readers. Which will improve my chances of selling more books and (hopefully) getting to be a writer for the rest of my life.

But those echoes of my own words online also remind me how very big a place the internet is, and how nothing ever truly disappears once it's appeared online. So if I phrase this announcement badly, it'll follow me. It will be referred to, questioned, analyzed, criticized, and (hopefully) enjoyed. So please bear with me and keep in mind that because my editor hasn't even had a chance to read the whole book yet, we're still in the very early editorial stages, and some things could change, including names, titles, and world-building details.

That said...here goes:

Series name: The name of the new series is "Unbound." As in, "An Unbound novel, by Rachel Vincent." Or something like that.

Title: The first book, currently scheduled for September 1, 2011, will be called BLOOD BOUND.

I know, I know, there's already a Patricia Briggs novel of that name. (I read it years ago. It was awesome.) But because my novel is coming out years after hers did and because the subject matter of my book is NOTHING like hers, I'm not anticipating much title confusion. My original working title for the book was "Bound In Blood," and we went through literally a dozen or more title possibilities with the awesome people at Mira before finally deciding (unanimously, as far as I know) that nothing else captures the feel and subject matter of this book better than BLOOD BOUND. So, BLOOD BOUND it is.

Genre: The Unbound series is paranormal. It's a little more romance-heavy than the early Shifters books are, and about in line with romance/relationship content of the last couple of Shifters books.

Audience: The Unbound books are intended for adults. As my editor said, BLOOD BOUND is "twisted." (Is it wrong that her quote makes me smile? ;)) If this first book is any indication, these books will be very dark and gritty, violent, and tense, but with some humor (mostly dialogue) to take the edge off.

The world: The idea behind the Unbound world-building is simple. The execution is a little more complicated. For me, it all started with the cliché "a man's word is his bond," then grew to include, "the pen is mightier than the sword" and the concept of "word of mouth."

"What…" I thought, as I was brainstorming, "…if those clichés could be taken literally?"

What if a person's word really was his or her bond? What if, once given, a promise could never be taken back? Would you be more careful what you say? Wouldn't we all, if we were bound to our words?

Then I took it a step further. If the spoken word carries that much power, how much more would the written word carry? What about words written in (or sealed in) blood? What about words written in (and sealed in) flesh? Tattoos and graffiti take on a whole new meaning, huh?

Needless to say, once I headed down that thought-path, the world-building exploded—there's much more to it now (but I'm not going to give you any more just yet). The story lines grew from the world-building possibilities and conflicts. The characters developed based on the experiences they would've had, growing up in this world.

The bad guys are bad (twisted, according to some…), but they have very human motivations.

The good guys are…not exactly wearing white hats. But the innocent are still innocent, and someone has to fight for them. (This may, in fact, be the only thing Shifters has in common with Unbound.)

The characters:

Olivia Warren owes her friend Anne a favor. Anne needs someone found and brought to a very quick, private justice.

The catch? Olivia must work with Cam Caballero to complete this favor. The problem? Cam is Olivia's ex—the man prophesied to either kill her or die by her hand. It's a tense reunion, at best.

As Olivia and Cam chase their target through public streets, private lives, and a dangerous criminal underworld, everything they thought they knew comes into question. In the end, they can only be sure of three things…

No one can be trusted.
Everyone's lying.
And someone's going to pay.

----- Okay, what do you think? Anyone interested?

I'll be answering questions on my Facebook page over the next couple of days, when this post is cross-posted there. Feel free to come read/ask... ;)