Suzanne Johnson's Blog, page 33

Shop Talk: New Heroes, Old Heroes

Welcome to Shop Talk, the Wednesday feature where we chat about book stuff. Today, I want to steal a page from the latest issue of RT Book Reviews and talk about couples. You know, heroes and heroines.

Urban fantasy and paranormal romance tend to take different views on couplehood, as a general rule. Even though the two genres share a lot of DNA (no pun intended), they really are quite different to write, and one of the ways in which they differ is the way romantic interests are handled.

In mos...

Drive-by Review (and C*ntest): Queen Victoria’s Book of Spells

Welcome to the Preternatura “Drive-By Reviews.” It’s my way of passing along books in my TBR Pile on Steroids to you. I read the first 50 or so pages of a book (might be new, might be not-so-new), tell you what I like or didn’t like, and give it a grade of A (wish I had time to finish it, and resent that I have so little reading time these days); B (I’m not head-over-heels but I am interested enough to keep going); or C (I’d keep reading but there are some red flags for me). If i...<![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]>

New Releases March 22-28 and Readers Choice C*ontest

With 25 new books out this week, it's not exactly slow... but you might think of it as the calm before the insanity that will be the first week of April.

But...but...but look what's out this week in the group of 25. A new Black Dagger Brotherhood novel (the long-awaited Qhuinn and Blay story)! A new Elemental Assassin novel from Jennifer Estep! A new Kitty book from Carrie Vaughn! A new Night Prince novel from Jeaniene Frost! Guess I better do my taxes so I can see if there's anyt...<![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]>

Scene-Snippet Sunday: Elysian Fields (& Weekly W*nners)

Welcome to scene-snippet Sunday, where I feature a snapshot from a work in progress or upcoming book.

Just a note for those of you who were interested in RIVER ROAD but didn't want to buy the hardcover edition, the book will be released in trade paperback (to match ROYAL STREET) on June 25 and is available for preorder. ELYSIAN FIELDS will release in hardcover on August 13 and also is available for preorder. After that? Well, it's up to you guys and the Gods of Book Sales.

Upcoming stuff...I wi...

Drive-By Review & C*ntest: #YA ASHES OF TWILIGHT by Kassy Tayler

Welcome to the inaugural “Drive-By Review.” It’s my way of passing along books in my TBR Pile on Steroids to you, the reader. I read the first 50 or so pages of a novel (might be new, might be not-so-new), tell you what I like or didn’t like, and give it a grade of A (wish I had time to finish it, and resent that I have so little reading time these days); B (I’m not head-over-heels but I am interested enough to keep going); or C (I’d keep reading but there are some red flags for...<![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]>

Q&A with Author Chandler Klang Smith (& W*n Choice of Book)

Today, author Chandler Klang Smith is here to talk about her recent release, Goldenland Past Dark, published by ChiZine publications.  Chandler grew up in Springfield, Illinois, before dropping out of high school early and running away to join the circus, or rather, the most circus-like educational environment she could find, namely, Bennington College. After four years of costume parties, lonely mountains, brilliant professors, passionate 3 a.m. aesthetic arguments, and dar...<![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]>

Shop Talk: The Dreaded DNF

Did I mention that my TBR pile has gotten totally out of hand? I mean, ridiculously so. And my reading time has regrettably dwindled. I want to move books along to readers, but also want to have an opinion about them so...

Drive-By Reviews, which will debut Friday and will appear once or twice a week on the Preternatura site. I'll read the first fifty pages of a book and do a quickie "review" or impressions of what I like and didn't like in these opening pages. I won't assign starred reviews--...

Out today! Storm Force by Susannah Sandlin (& C*ntest)

Today's the release day for STORM FORCE, a paranormal-romantic-thriller (yes, I made that genre up) by my alter-ego Susannah Sandlin! It's a strange feeling having it go out into the world because I'm still in the process of writing it!

But I will give away a $10 Amazon GC to a commenter today, so bear with me while I 'splain.

STORM FORCE is a nine-episode serial novel that will be released one episode at a time, every week for nine weeks, exclusively for the Kindle or one of the free Kindle ap...

New Releases March 15-21 and Readers Choice C*ontest

There's an intriguing mix of new releases this week--not quite a budget-breaker, but some interesting stuff. I've recently gotten Quintessence and Pandemonium and *happy dances* Queen Victoria's Book of Spells, which just looks awesome. So stay tuned for those coming up in a new feature I'm planning to roll out this Thursday, "Drive-By Reviews." Mostly, it's a way for me to start passing along some of my ginormous TBR mountain to you.

Oh, and hey...that second book looks awfully f...<![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]>

Behind the Scenes: Elysian Fields (& Weekly W*nners)

This week, instead of a snippet from a manuscript, I thought I'd introduce a couple of important worldbuilding details that will come into play in Elysian Fields and as the Sentinels series progresses.

Today, we'll look at the organization of the wizards. Over the coming weeks, we'll see the power structure of the elves and the vampires--both of which groups become very active in Elysian Fields.

A basic deconstructed organizational chart of the wizards is:

First Elder
Congress of Elders (one per...