Laurie London's Blog, page 13

A VAMPIRE FOR CHRISTMAS releases in print today

So excited that the anthology A VAMPIRE FOR CHRISTMAS, with my novella Enchanted By Blood, comes out in print today!!! If you have an e-reader, it comes out in digital on November 1.

Former Guardian Trace Westfalen is poised to take over his father's seat on Governing Council, but he won't be voted in if he's in a relationship with a human. Interior decorator/party planner Charlotte Grant is attracted to the handsome stranger who comes to her aid one night. There's something about him that she just can't put her finger on. She hasn't met him before...or has she?

I had a great time writing Trace and Charlotte's story.  I hope you'll check it out. For a chance to win a signed copy, I'm doing a joint blog tour with the other authors. Check here for the schedule. Also, I'm doing a few blogs on my own, so be sure to follow me on Facebook or Twitter to see where I'll be each day.

Happy Fang-tastic Reading!

Thank You Thursday - Vicky Dreiling

Welcome to a new feature on my blog called Thank You Thursday. Each week, I'm inviting an author to answer a few questions about their book's dedication and acknowledgments. I LOVE reading these little snippets at the beginning of books and often find myself wondering about the story behind them. So I decided to ask.

Today, I'm thrilled to welcome historical romance author Vicky Dreiling!

***********************************************************

1. In the acknowledgements of HOW TO SEDUCE A SCOUNDREL, you thank several people. Can you tell us about one or two of them and how they helped you?

I always thank my wonderful agent Lucienne Diver, because she's awesome. She's so awesome that her authors nicknamed her Agent Awesome Sauce. The first time I met Lucienne, she asked what I wrote and what my book was about. I looked at her sheepishly and said, "Um, it's the bachelor in Regency England, minus the hot tub and camera crew." Lucienne requested the book. Essentially, she got me at hello. She's a very savvy agent and knows the business well. She also happens to be a wonderful person and a lot of fun!

Of course, I thanked my fabulous editor Michele Bidelspach. Her insights are truly brilliant, and she also happens to be really wonderful to work with. I'm so fortunate to have both of these ladies on my team.I also gave a shout-out to several others at Forever Romance for their support and for all of the great promotional opportunities. ☺

2. Was there anyone who helped you when you researched a plot detail in HOW TO SEDUCE A SCOUNDREL? If so, who helped you and what did you learn?

No. I know the Regency era extremely well and traveled to the UK ten times. I didn't have to do a great deal of research for this particular book. However, I did draw on my knowledge of places I visited in London such as Apsley House, the Duke of Wellington's residence, for inspiration. I also used my visit to Stonehenge in the book.

3. Is there a detail or turning point in HOW TO SEDUCE A SCOUNDREL that would've been different without the input of someone who read an early draft? If so, can you tell us a little more?

I don't use critique partners, and I only recently acquired Beta Readers (love them!). So the answer is that my agent and editor were the first readers. Interestingly, their comments were almost identical.



[image error] Forever Romance /July 2011
SCOUNDRELS, RAKES, AND ROGUES BEWARE . . .
Lady Julianne Gatewick is in a pickle. It started when her brother's best friend—for whom she's long nursed a secret tendre—agreed to act as her guardian for the Season, only to seduce her with a risqué waltz. But when the music stopped and the expectant ton waited for the Earl of Hawkfield to claim her as his own, he made his disinterest clear.

Rather than succumb to humiliation, Julianne does what any recently discarded, wickedly witty young miss would do. She secretly pens a lady's guide to enticing unrepentant rakes . . . and it becomes the hottest scandal in London.

Every honorable rake knows that friends' sisters are forbidden. But suddenly Julianne has a spark of mischief in her eyes that Hawk can't resist. Try as he might to push her away, he spends his days listening for her laughter and his nights dreaming of her kisses. He's always avoided innocents and their marriage-minded mothers, but has the man least likely to wed finally met his match?

ALL'S FAIR IN LOVE AND WAR

Buy HOW TO SEDUCE A SCOUNDREL here:Amazon | B&N | Books a Million | IndieBound

Visit Vicky Online:Website | Facebook | Twitter | Google | Tumblr
About Vicky:

Vicky Dreiling is a confirmed historical romance junkie and Anglophile. Frequent business trips to the UK allowed her to indulge her passion for all things Regency England. Bath, Stonehenge, and Spencer House are among her favorite places. She is, however, truly sorry for accidentally setting off a security alarm in Windsor Castle. That unfortunate incident led her British colleagues to nickname her "Trouble." A native Texan, Vicky holds degrees in English literature and marketing.

**********************************************************THE GIVEAWAY 

Vicky is giving away a copy of HOW TO SEDUCE A SCOUNDREL to one random commenter in the US or Canada.
Giveaway Rules:

1. Leave a comment.
2. You MUST leave your email address in your comment so we can easily contact you if you win. 

3. For extra entries: 1 Tweet about it. 1 Share on Facebook. (Come back here and post the links.)
4. Contest ends 10/19/11  Good luck!

Thank You Thursday Winner

Random.org picked @lolaraine09 as the winner of a signed copy of Erin Kellison's SHADOWMAN. Congratulations! Please check your email.

Thanks, everyone, for your comments.

Be sure to check in tomorrow for another edition of Thank You Thursday with historical romance author, Vicky Dreiling.

A Vampire For Christmas - Animated UK cover

How cool is this?! Check out the animated cover available in the UK for the anthology A VAMPIRE FOR CHRISTMAS! If it doesn't automatically load and show the animation, just click on the image and you'll see it. Wonder if it'll look this way on people's ereaders over there...maybe on the iPad or the Kindle Fire? (Those of you in Australia will recognize this cover as my cover for BONDED BY BLOOD.)

Thank You Thursday - Erin Kellison

Welcome to a new feature on my blog called Thank You Thursday. Each week, I'm inviting an author to answer a few questions about their book's dedication and acknowledgments. I LOVE reading these little snippets at the beginning of books and often find myself wondering about the story behind them. So I decided to ask.

I'm thrilled to have author Erin Kellison here to help kick things off. Thank you, Erin!

************************************************
First of all, thank you Laurie for having me! I thinkinviting authors to talk about their book Acknowledgements is an inspired idea.I'm happy to give away a copy of Shadowmanto one lucky commenter.1. In the acknowledgements of SHADOWMAN, you thank severalpeople. Can you tell us about one or two of them and how they helped you?

I thank Nora Needham, Tes Hilaire, and KC Klein for giving me great feedbackand support while I was writing Shadowman.Nora writes gorgeous historical fiction. Tes's debut paranormal romance, Deliver me from Darkness, releases fromSourcebooks next spring. And KC's debut futuristic romance, Dark Future, releases October 11 fromAvon Impulse. I've worked with each a little differently, but in general, weexchange pages and look for everything from sentence level stuff to overallstory arcs. They are awesome, and I'm lucky to have worked with them.

2. Was there anyone who helped you when you researched a plot detail inSHADOWMAN? If so, who helped you and what did you learn?

Brian Anderson deserves a whole post of his own. Besides being a great guy, heis an amazing resource for anything weapons or tactical related. The guy knowshis stuff. He is a Desert Storm veteran and an ex-cop, so basically anyquestion I have about guns (magazines, not clips!) or tactical situations, allI have to do is send him a quick email or IM and he'll send me back a massivedocument complete with photographs, charts, graphs, etc.While I was writing Shadowman,I needed some detailed info on how an officer or soldier would take down anddisable an attacker. We were at a party at Brian's house when I mentioned this,so he suggested that he demonstrate on my husband. A few seconds later, myhusband was face down on the floor, legs spread, with Brian standing on hisshoulder to pin him down. Still cracks me up thinking about it.

3. Is there a detail or turning point in SHADOWMAN that would've been differentwithout the input of someone who read an early draft? If so, can you tell us alittle more?

This is where the Dedication to Shadowmancomes in—to my husband, Matt. He's an amazing sounding board and critiqueseverything before anyone else sees it.

There are a million details that would be different withouthim. I rely on Matt to do a lot of research on smaller items that may not beessential to the plot, but they give the story a depth and richness that itwould lack without them. Matt is a computer geek, so he helps with a lot of thetechnology details, especially within the Segue Institute (fingerprintscanners, etc); he had fun researching the Sikorsky X-2 helicopter thatShadowman travels in; he also helped with a lot of the location details, and hekeeps track of the series timeline, without which I would be lost.
About SHADOWMAN: Kensington Books/Sept. 2011

Ghosts 
They haunt the halls of the SegueInstitute, terrifying the living, refusing to cross over. But one soul isdriven by a very different force.Love 
Itsurvives even death. And Kathleen O'Brien swore she would return to those shewas forced to leave too soon.Shadowman 
Hebroke every rule to have her in life; now he will defy the angels to find herin death.The Gate 
Forgingit is his single hope of being reunited with his beloved, but through it anabomination enters the world. Leaving a trail of blood and violence, the devilhunts her too. Pursued through realms of bright fantasy and dark reality,Kathleen is about to be taken... 
Visit Erin online: Website | Facebook | Twitter

Buy Shadowman here: Amazon | B&N |Books-A-Million | Indie Bound
About Erin:

Erin Kellison is the author of the Shadow Series,which includes ShadowBound and ShadowFall , and Shadowman (Sept 2011), and a Shadow world e-novella series, beginning with Shadow Touch . Stories have always been a central part of Erin's life. She attempted herfirst book in sixth grade, a dark fantasy adventure, and she still has thoseearly hand-written chapters. She graduated summa cum laude with a degree inEnglish Language and Literature and went on for a masters in CulturalAnthropology, focusing on oral storytelling. When she had children, nothingscared her anymore, so her focus shifted to writing fiction.
**********************************************************
THE GIVEAWAY
Erin is giving away a copy of SHADOWMAN to one random commenter. Open internationally.
Giveaway Rules:
1. Leave a comment.
2. You MUST leave your email address in your comment so we can easily contact you if you win. 
3. For extra entries: +1 Tweet about it. +1 Share on Facebook. (Come back here and post the links.)
4. Contest ends 10/12/11  Good luck!

Win A Bunch of Signed Paranormal Romances

How would you like to win a bunch of paranormal romance books from three of my favorite series? All you have to do is sign up for my newsletter (scroll down to the form on the left sidebar of my blog or on the My Newsletter tab on my Facebook page) and you'll be in the running to win these books from Erin Kellison, Elisabeth Naughton and Jessa Slade. Except for Shadow Bound and Shadow Fall, they're all brand new and signed. One lucky newsletter subscriber will be randomly chosen next month.

VampXmas Blog Tour

It's official--starting October 17, all four authors featured in the anthology A VAMPIRE FOR CHRISTMAS are going on a mini blog tour together. At each stop on the #VampXmas tour, Michele Hauf, Caridad Pineiro, Alexis Morgan and I will be answering questions about our short stories and giving away some cool swag, which will include a signed copy of A VAMPIRE FOR CHRISTMAS, one of our other books and an ornament. Please join us! And don't be surprised if we throw in a little more, after all, the holidays are a time for giving.

Here's our joint schedule:

10/17 Vampire Book Club
10/19 The Qwillery
10/25 Tynga's Reviews
11/4   All Things Urban Fantasy
11/12 Literal Addiction


Feel free to post this button on Facebook and/or your blog to help spread the word. Mayhem is always more fun when there are a lot of people.

Also, we've got a few other fun events in the works, which may or may not involve pajamas, so stay tuned.

5 Things I Do Before I Start Writing a New Book

While I wait for revisions on Jackson's book from my editor, I'm getting a jump-start on Santiago's story. But before I do that, I need to get into the correct mind-set. Here are five things I do before I start writing the next book.

1. Clean off my desk/writing space. Cluttered surroundings leads to clutter in my mind, and I want to be as clear-thinking as possible when I start a new project.

2. Print out monthly calendars to set goals and track my daily/weekly progress. Using the calendar template in Word, I start with the month I begin writing and end with the month I want to be done with the first draft. Taking into consideration how fast I write, I pencil in weekly word count goals for each of the Fridays, then each day I record my progress. I don't get too uptight if I don't make a daily goal, but I really try to meet my weekly goals. And I try not to be too ambitious either. Overstating how much you think you'll be able to write, and then failing, can have a negative effect on your attitude and confidence. Stretch a tiny bit, but not too much, and the continual success will be exhilarating.

3. Assemble all my tools. Because I plot the specifics of my story as I go (but I'd secretly like to be better organized), I have a plot board on my side table and add ideas on colored Post It notes.

4. Get to know my characters. I use a variety of character worksheets with my favorites being ones I've gotten from classes given by Linnea Sinclair and Cherry Adair. Here's a great set of online worksheets from Erica Ridley, and I've learned a lot about my characters' fears by diagramming/answering the questions posed at The Emotional Toolbox. Don't feel like you have to fill out every question, every box. Trying to fit Cinderella's glass slipper on her stepsister's foot will drive you crazy and shatter the shoe. Sometimes just reading or thinking about an element will spark an idea or get you to consider something you hadn't before.

5. Read a lot. Reading both inside and outside my genre refills my creative tank. I read for pleasure and I read to study technique. Right now, I'm studying how other authors handle chronology/passage of time in their stories and before that, I studied how they used transitions between scenes and chapters. Just because I'm published doesn't mean I'm done learning how to write. <g>

Writers: Do you have any routines before you start writing a new story? Readers: When you start a new project, do you have any routines that help?

Upcoming Appearances

Wanted to let you know of a few local places where I'll be speaking and/or signing books. On October 5, I'll be with the Tacoma Roundtable Readers for their Wednesday author lunch, talking about the Sweetblood series. Then, just a few weeks later, I'm on an author panel at the Emerald City Writers Conference in Bellevue and will be signing books at the book fair on October 29 with close to 100 other authors including...drumroll...Sherrilyn Kenyon and Cherry Adair!!!

If you're a fan of paranormal romance, you shouldn't miss this huge book signing. If you're in the Seattle or Tacoma area, I'd love to see you at one or both of these events.

Funny Twitter Handles

As an author, I need to tweet under my author name. It's all part of building name recognition, even if I'm not tweeting about my books. While that all makes sense, I still think it's really boring. I yearn for the days when I could use a fun and funky Twitter handle. Before I was published, I learned the Twitter ropes under a goofy name, but, alas, those wild and crazy days are over. Today, I is a serios author. ;-)

I'm doing a fun Twitter contest right now, asking people to retweet a message for a chance to win a book and I'm seeing lots of cool Twitter handles. It got me longing for those days of fun names. Here are just a few that make me laugh (and a little jealous) when I see them in my tweet stream:

@DarkBloodyVamp
@BookLove101
@TheBookNympho
@FanGirlMom
@OfficeWench13
@SomethingBlue22
@YoungLibrarian
@TrishPickyme
@Darynda (like Cher or Bono - LOL)
@InkyElbows
@Lush26
@KSyrah
@Limecello
@Moonrat
@NocturnalBites
@TechTigger

What are some of your favorite Twitter handles?