Jeaniene Frost's Blog, page 13

Book rec: THE LAST WOLF

Gosh, I keep having to start my blogs with "Sorry it's been so long since I last posted!" This one is no exception. I had a relative staying at my house for two weeks, so you know how busy things can get with house guests. But - don't go away! - I have more to offer you than blog neglect excuses. How about a book recommendation?

I briefly mentioned this one in my 2017 wrap-up post, but since today is the release day, I'm mentioning it again. First, some backstory. Several months ago, my agent sent me an email asking if I'd read a debut author's book for the potential of a "blurb" which means a promotional endorsement. Now, you don't know this, but my agent sent that request with a decline already written up since (1) I usually don't read over half of what I'm sent because I don't have the time and (2) of the half that I read, I don't get through most of them because I am the pickiest author EVER when it comes to handing out promotional endorsements. Not only do I have to love the book to give it an official "blurb," it also can't hit any of my personal auto-reject tropes, and there are many. No, I'm not listing them because it's my baggage as a reader and I don't want to imply that books that have one or more of these tropes are "bad." They're not. They're just not my cup of tea.

You might be getting an idea of how few books I blurb with all these disclaimers, and you'd be right. It's maybe one a year at most.  On top of all this, I got into a reading slump last year where even favorite authors of mine couldn't hold my attention for an entire book. So, although I agreed to read THE LAST WOLF because it had been a while since I'd said yes to my agent about this sort of thing, I was convinced that it would get a reject from me. I even started it with the oh-so-ambitious intention of reading one chapter so I could tell my agent that hey, I'd tried.

Cue me starting the book with that terrible attitude...and then reading for hours, until my husband went to bed with a muttered "Guess you're really enjoying that book."

I was. I finished it in two sittings, which is damn near a record for me of late. THE LAST WOLF is about - you guessed it - werewolves, but it's done in a way that felt fresh and unique even though werewolves are not a new topic. When I finished it, I immediately sent an email to my agent that said "I LOVED this! It's so much better than the werewolf story I wrote. I'll send you a quote once I get over being so envious of the author!" 

I'm glad I get to write this post because by comparison, my quote sounds pretty dry and unexcited. I don't know why publishers won't print first reactions on covers. Mine would have been something like "Squee! I loved this book! Seriously, you gotta try it!" Guess they don't consider that professional enough ;). 

All that said, here are the details for THE LAST WOLF by Maria Vale, which is one sale today. As you can tell, I really recommend it. I'm not alone in my admiration, either: Amazon picked it as one of their best books of the month and Booklist gave it a starred review.

For three days out of thirty, when the moon is full and her law is iron, the Great North Pack must be wild.

If she returns to her Pack, the stranger will die. But if she stays…

Silver Nilsdottir is at the bottom of her Pack's social order, with little chance for a decent mate and a better life. Until the day a stranger stumbles into their territory, wounded and beaten, and Silver decides to risk everything on Tiberius Leveraux. But Tiberius isn't all he seems, and in the fragile balance of the Pack and wild, he may tip the destiny of all wolves…

The Legend of All Wolves, book one.

Order: Amazon, B&N, iBooks, IndieBound

2018 appearances

I've been meaning to post about this, but you know what they say about good intentions. Anyway, here are my current appearances for 2018. As you'll see, there aren't many. That's because I'm trying to get caught up on my deadlines, so I'm limiting my travel until that happens. The only change that might come to my schedule later is if my publisher decides to send me somewhere for the release of SHADES OF WICKED (Ian and Veritas book one, out October 30th.) If that happens, I'll of course update my blog, etc.

However, my publisher usually only gives me two months or less notice when they send me out, so if you're not signed up for my newsletter (hosted by Coffeetime Romance) there's a good chance you won't know about those last-minute appearances. The most common thing I hear after an appearance is "I didn't know you'd be in my city! I can't believe I missed seeing you, but I don't check your blog that frequently, so I didn't know you'd be in town." Few people do check my blog every single month because everyone's busy with their own lives :). That's why I'd encourage you to sign up for my newsletter. You'll get appearance notices and new release reminders sent right to you. Fyi, I don't redistribute your info and my newsletters are pretty infrequent (about 5 or 6 in a whole year) so they won't fill up your inbox. Click here if you're interested (or copy/paste full url into your browser: https://visitor.r20.constantcontact.c... )

That said, I'll be at Appollycon in Arlington, Virginia on March 23rd and 24th. In addition to the Titan signing on Friday and the mass group signing on Saturday, if you're a Titan pass holder, you can also see me at 10:00 on the Adult Paranormal, Fantasy and Urban Fantasy panel. 

Next, I'll be at Shameless Book Con in Orlando, Florida from October 19th and 2oth. I don't think their schedule is up yet, but I'll be at the main mass signing at least, and possibly more places. 

And that's it unless/until I hear otherwise from my publisher :). I hope to see some of you at the above events! In the meantime, stay warm. It's even chilly here in Florida, heh.

Happy New Year and best of 2017 lists

Wow, December flew by! That's probably because there are quite a few birthdays that month for my family, plus my anniversary (25 years!) and of course, Christmas and New Year's. As predicted in my previous post, I have blown both my diet and my budget. Which one will be easier to fix? Time will tell, heh. 

It feels like everyone has done a "Best of 2017" list, so I decided that, even though it's officially 2018 now, I'd chime in with mine. With that in mind, here are some of my favorite reads during 2017. There aren't many titles because I found myself in a reading slump this past year. I would start books that were perfectly good, but I just couldn't summon the enthusiasm to keep reading. I've been a book lover since I was ten, so this sucked, to be blunt. I'm happy to say that my reading slump seems to be over now, so I am eyeing my To Be Read pile with happy anticipation instead of dread. 

That disclaimer aside, here are my favorite reads from 2017: 

Stillhouse Lake & Killman Creek by Rachel Caine

The Last Wolf by Maria Vale

The first five novels of the Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs

The Hidden Legacy series by Ilona Andrews

The Scarlett Falls series by Melinda Leigh

And here are some of my favorite new TV shows from 2017. You'll note that they range from sweet, quirky and heartwarming (Kevin Probably Saves The World) to over-the-top violent with a side of the fantastical deranged (Happy!). Side note: those two descriptions pretty much sums up my mood swings for the year, heh.

That disclaimer aside, here are my favorite new TV shows of 2017:

The Gifted

Happy!

Kevin Probably Saves The World

Superstition

Lethal Weapon

The Orville

Ghost Wars

People of Earth

Ghosted

Now, it's back to work for me, which in this case is plugging away at Shades of Wicked, the first Night Rebel (Ian and Veritas) novel. No pre-order links yet, but once I have them I'll post them everywhere. Of course, it wouldn't surprise me if readers find those first. You guys usually beat my publisher to the punch when it comes to telling me about those. Either way, happy New Year to you! Hope 2018 brings a lot of good things your way :).

Holiday pros and cons

Ah, December, the month when both diets and budgets regularly get blown. I might not be done with all my Christmas shopping yet, but I've got all my decorations up, at least. Last year, I didn't decorate at all because we were in the middle of selling one house in order to buy another, and I was very stressed because (1) if House A's sale fell through, then we wouldn't be able to buy House B, (2) our lease was almost up, so if House A didn't sell, we'd also have to find a new rental house to live in, or be locked into another year's lease, and (3) it was the first anniversary of my mother's death and seeing all the Christmas stuff just reminded me of how depressed I'd felt taking it down after getting back from her funeral the prior year (she had died over the holidays.) 

This December, however, we are in our new house, and since time heals all wounds, Christmas decorations no longer give me bad memories of my mother's death. So, I've put up all my decorations and our tree is up, too. Since I can never decide whether I want multi-colored lights or white lights on the tree, I of course picked the lights that change slowly back and forth from multi-colored to white - victory for my fickle nature! 

But since no holiday season can be stress-free, all is not variety lights and pretty decorations at Casa Frost. In addition to the normal chaos, last week my dog Gypsy miscalculated a jump onto the furniture and blew out her back knee. Since she'll be 14 in two months and she has other health issues, plus it would require an intensive 6 month post-surgical recovery period, surgery isn't advisable to repair it. So, we can do nothing except give Gypsy pain meds and anti-flammants, block off all the furniture because she STILL wants to  jump on it even though she can barely hobble, keep her secluded to the family room/bedroom to limit her mobility, and wait for her leg to heal on its own. She still might end up with a permanent limp. We're hoping not, but if that happens, Gypsy can add it to her scarred eyes due to multiple surgeries to remove corneal ulcers, the scar on her face to remove a thankfully-benign lump, and various other healed injuries that all serve to prove she's a tough little canine. Here she is, posing by some of my aforementioned Christmas decorations:



I'm sure I'll blog again before the end of the year, but until then, hope your December is filled with far more smiles than stresses :).

The Brightest Embers is here!

As the subject line says, THE BRIGHTEST EMBERS, the third and final novel in the Broken Destiny series, is now here!

You can run from your destiny, but you can’t hide… 

Ivy thought that she and Adrian had conquered their fates. Yet with thousands of innocents still trapped in the demon realms, she’s determined to locate the final hallowed weapon and harness its unparalleled power to free them. But the last relic nearly put Ivy in the grave—there’s probably no coming back from this one. 

Adrian’s dark lineage has made him the most powerful of his kind, yet even his incredible abilities might not be enough now. Instead, the treacherous fate he has fought so hard to escape might be the only way he can save Ivy. Their scintillating bond has been tested before, but never with so much on the line. Now fate will come head-to-head against true love, and nothing they’ve endured can prepare Ivy and Adrian for the unthinkable choices they’ll face… 

I was so flattered to see that Goodreads chose THE BRIGHTEST EMBERS as one of the Romance Best Books of the Month for November. I don't recall any of my other novels getting this, so allow me a squee, readers :). 

Romantic Times had this to say:  “The conclusion to Frost’s Broken Destiny trilogy is, by far, the strongest of the lot and the most fulfilling. There’s been a great deal of thought and care put into the complexity of this world, and it all comes together here in an emotional burst of action, mythology and romance. It’s saying something when the reader comes to care — really care — about the characters, even a monstrous gargoyle with a penchant for raw meat. The ending is unexpected, and is a fitting farewell to Ivy and Adrian.” 4 Stars.

And Chelsea from Vampire Book Club said: "Nonstop adventure with fights that literally bring down the roof down and the kind of romance scenes that you'll want to bookmark for re-reads on cold nights. 5 stars." (full review here)

Once again, squee, squee, squee!

Ahem. Okay, I'll try to wrap this up in a professional way, heh. So, in closing, let me say that I'm so glad to finally be able to share Ivy and Adrian's final story you and I hope you love it. Thank you for going on this journey with them, readers.

You can pick up your copy of THE BRIGHTEST EMBERS at these places or your favorite retailer: 
Amazon | B & N | Book Depository | iBooks | IndieBound | Powells

Also available in audio, read by the fabulous Tavia Gilbert: 

Audible, Downpour, iTunes or your favorite audio retailer.

THE BRIGHTEST EMBERS book trailer and first chapter, plus Ian book news and more!

Hi, everyone! Lots to cover in this post, so let's get right to it!

First, thanks to everyone who participated in my #10GraveYears Twitter chat to celebrate the 10th anniversary of - you guessed it! - HALFWAY TO THE GRAVE's release. In case you have seen it, my publisher joined in on the celebration by creating a limited-time HALFWAY TO THE GRAVE ebook containing ALL of the deleted/alternate scenes for that book (note: if you're read Outtakes From The Grave, then you've already read these scenes.) You can pick that up for only $2.99 here or at your favorite ebook retailer.

Next up, I shared a bunch of news about Ian and Veritas's upcoming book during that Twitter chat, and I'm repeating it here for those of you who haven't seen it. We'll start with the title of the first Night Rebel book, and yes, I said "first" because this WILL be a series. It is...

SHADES OF WICKED, release date October 30th, 2018.

Why a year away, you ask? Because I'm not done writing it yet :). To help tide you over, I also shared some teaser lines from the book during my #10GraveYears Twitter chat. Here they are:

The current first sentence: This had better be the right whorehouse.

Later in Chapter One: Ian turned around, revealing he wore nothing beneath his circus ringleader jacket.

Veritas's first thought after the above sentence: What vampire in his right mind would pierce himself with silver there?

And what Ian says to Veritas a paragraph or two down: “Leave it to a Law Guardian to ruin a perfectly good orgy.”

RT Magazine did a great write-up on the Twitter chat, so you can read more teasers plus get other info here. 

Now, onto the last book in my Broken Destiny series! THE BRIGHTEST EMBERS comes out on November 28th, and I have the official book trailer and first chapter for you below. Thanks to to Book Candy Studios for another fabulous trailer. Click here to watch on my YouTube page:

 

Finally, here is the entire first chapter of THE BRIGHTEST EMBERS. However, BIG spoiler warning if you haven't read books one or two yet. Seriously, BIG, and it starts in the first sentence, so don't read this if you don't want to be spoiled. Also, this chapter is slightly different than the one at the back of The Sweetest Burn. That's what happens when you post something pre-revisions :)). Disclaimers aside, enjoy!

Chapter One

I walked into the museum with a half demon holding my hand and a gargoyle waiting for me back at our car. As a history major, I’d often dreamed about going museum hopping throughout Europe, but not once had I pictured doing it like this.

“We’re here for the four p.m. tour,” Adrian, my new husband and the aforementioned half demon, told the museum attendant.

“The four p.m. tour group is over there,” she said, pointing toward a small cluster of people about a dozen feet away.

As we walked off, Adrian traced the braided rope tattoo on my right hand. My sleeve hid the rest of it, just like my high-necked blouse and long pants hid the remains of the other hallowed weapon that had supernaturally merged with my flesh. If the hallowed weapon we were looking for was here, I’d no doubt end up with a third supernatural tattoo.

Of course, that tattoo might one day end up decorating my cold dead corpse.

“Feel anything, Ivy?” Adrian asked in a low voice.

I directed my senses outward and felt the distinct vibes that meant this was hallowed ground, as well as extra brushes of power from the various religious relics in this museum. But I didn’t feel anything potent enough to punch a hole through every demon realm in existence, and that’s the specific ancient relic we were after.

“No,” I said, frustration coloring my tone.

I hadn’t felt the power we were seeking when we were at Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome last week, or the Hofburg Palace in Vienna earlier this week. Now we were at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin complex in Vagharshapat, Armenia. This was the third place in the world claiming possession of spearhead of Longinus, aka the Holy Lance, aka the final hallowed weapon that I was supposedly fated to wield. The third time was, unfortunately, not the charm according to my lineage-derived radar. I could sense hallowed objects, and the famed spearhead wasn’t here, unless wards were messing with my ability to feel it.

I wasn’t optimistic about our chances. “I suppose if the real spearhead was at one of the places it was supposed to be at, demons would’ve stolen it centuries ago.”

Someone close enough to overhear that gave me a startled look. I just waved at her. I wasn’t worried about shocking her with the truth about demons, demons’ minions, Archons—better known as angels—or any of the other supernatural creatures I now knew were real. I could spend the next twenty minutes telling everyone here that all these things existed, and no one would believe me even if a bunch of demons were breathing down their necks while I spoke. I knew that from experience.

Adrian drew me closer, brushing back my dark brown hair. “We had to check out this museum to be sure the spearhead wasn’t hiding in plain sight. Besides,” he murmured, leaning down until his mouth nearly touched mine. “This might not be a successful relic hunt, but it’s turning into a great honeymoon.”

My cheeks weren’t the only parts of me to grow warm at his statement, yet instead of leaning into his lips, I pushed him back. The look in his eyes said he was about to kiss me in a way more suited to our bedroom than a museum located on the headquarters of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

Still, Adrian was right. We might have struck out at finding the third hallowed weapon, but other than that, this had been the best month of my life. I’d used the second hallowed weapon to close the gateways between the demon realms and our world, effectively locking the demons out. That made it a thousand times safer for me, Adrian, my sister, our friend Costa, and every other person in the world. Only demons’ minions were left on this side of the realms, and with their demon masters locked up, the minions seemed to be running scared instead of terrorizing anyone.

“Kiss me later. Let’s do the tour now,” I told Adrian. “I might not feel anything, but the last weapon’s power was blocked by wards. Maybe the spearhead is here, and I just can’t feel it yet.”

“Maybe,” Adrian said, his light tone belying the sudden darkening of his sapphire-colored gaze.

Then he straightened, and just like that, the teasing, passionate man I loved was replaced by a hardened fighter who’d been raised by demons to be the world’s most effective killer. I took in a deep breath, reminding myself that the demons’ efforts had backfired. Now Adrian used all of his amazing abilities to fight against them instead of for them.

Besides, he was only gearing up in case the spearhead was here. If so, its incredible power would compel me into attempting to use it on the spot, and I wasn’t ready to do that. Not yet. That’s why Adrian would fight to the last ounce of his demonically-fueled, destiny-enhanced strength to stop me.

Because if I did use the spearhead now, it would kill me.

*

As it turned out, neither one of us had anything to worry about. One glance at the relic should’ve been enough to prove that it wasn’t the real deal. Touching the glass around it to make sure it hadn’t been protected by wards had almost been redundant. A first-century Roman spearhead wasn’t a short, flat, ornamental object that looked better suited to be a necklace than an ancient tool of war. It was a nasty, two-foot iron shank crowned with a sharp, pyramid-shaped point designed to impale someone even through protective armor.

No, this was another replica, and now, we had no idea where to look for the real spearhead. Adrian wasn’t nearly as upset about that as I was, and he wasn’t even trying to pretend otherwise.

“You could at least fake some disappointment,” I said as we left the museum and walked toward our rental van.

He gave me a sideways glance. “Then I’d be lying, and I thought we agreed there would be no more lies between us.”

We had, but he didn’t need to rub in how he’d much rather that I never found, let alone wielded, the spearhead. I could understand his reasons, but if I gave this up, then the demons would win and thousands of innocent people would die.

“And I thought you agreed to support me,” I said, the weight of all those lives making my tone sharper.

Adrian stopped and turned to face me. The sun was starting to set, casting artificial shades of red across his golden hair. His towering height, impressive physique, and gorgeous features had turned countless heads as we walked, but he didn’t seem to notice anyone else. Adrian stared at me as if I was the only person on this massive complex.

“I do support you.” The smoothness in his tone didn’t fool me. Unbreakable ties could also be made of finest silk. “My every action is driven by my undying love for you, in fact. What more do you want?”

Put that way, what more could I want? Yet something still felt…off, as if what Adrian wasn’t saying was more important than his words.

Underneath my joy this past month, I’d also had a nagging feeling that I was missing something important. Of course, it could be that I just didn’t know how to truly be happy. I’d never had a real relationship before. Plus, until six months ago, I and everyone else who knew me had believed I was crazy.

“I know you’re not chomping at the bit to find the spearhead because using it is dangerous for me,” I said, exploring that nagging feeling. “But I’ve survived lots of risks before, remember? I’ll come out on top this time, too.”

Adrian opened his mouth as if to argue, then closed it. “I know you will,” he said, still in that smooth, easygoing tone. “You’re just not ready to wield it yet. That’s why I’m glad none of these relics have been real. Later, when you’ve had more time to train, you’ll be prepared to handle it.”

“Yeah, well, later better end up being sooner,” I muttered. All the people still trapped in the demon realms couldn’t wait years for me to bulk up on my supernatural fortitude.

“Don’t worry,” Adrian said, intensity deepening his voice this time. “I’ll keep you safe. I promise.”

I gave him a lopsided smile. Yes, between Adrian and our good friend Costa training me, my stamina, strength and skills had grown by leaps and bounds. Eventually, with more training, I was counting on it being enough to keep me alive when I attempted to wield the final hallowed weapon—assuming we ever found it.

I shook off that nagging feeling. It had to be me projecting my own paranoia onto Adrian. After all, aside from our fight when I’d decided to go after the spearhead, Adrian hadn’t argued with me about it. He’d arranged these trips, helped me train and been nothing but supportive. So, even though I felt like I’d grown an inner “trouble brewing” sensor in addition to my hallowed one, it had to be in my head.

“Fine,” I said, my tone brightening. “Since the spearhead is a bust, do you know any good restaurants around here?”

I stopped speaking when Adrian flung me forward. He’d shoved me so hard that I would have hit the pavement face first if not for all the training I’d undergone. Instead, I rolled, muscle memory taking over. Several loud pops sounded in quick succession above me, as rapid as fireworks, yet when they were followed by screams, I knew what they really were. Gunfire.

“Ivy, run!” Adrian shouted.

I darted toward the nearest car for coverage. I didn’t have to worry about Adrian—bullets weren’t lethal to him. He hadn’t joined me behind the car, but ran in the direction of the shots. That would be suicidal for anyone else, but his half-demon bloodline meant that only another demon could kill Adrian.

“I’m good!” I shouted so Adrian wouldn’t worry about me.

The car window above me shattered from another round of gunfire. Worse, the angle from that shot had been completely different. That meant we were being attacked by two shooters.

I hit the ground and began to crawl toward another car, shredding my knees on the concrete, but not caring about the pain. Another shot hit the ground only an inch away, and I lurched forward to avoid the next one.

“Larastra!” I shouted to Brutus, using the Demonish command Adrian taught me. I hoped the gargoyle could hear me. Our rental van was on the other side of the parking lot.

A familiar roar responded to my shouted command, followed by a much louder crashing sound. I fervently hoped it was my pet who’d caused that noise instead of a third attacker joining the mix, but I didn’t dare pick my head up to look. I stayed as low as I could, hunkered behind a truck that should be wide enough to protect me.

New screams jerked my head around. A blonde girl knelt next to a nearby car. She was shaking all over, yet her gaze appeared almost blank when she looked at me. She also wasn’t crouched low enough to be safe.

“Get down,” I hissed.

Her eyes widened, but she didn’t move. Maybe she couldn’t. I’d seen shock freeze people before, but she needed to get down or—

“Dammit!” I shouted when blood bloomed on her shoulder after another burst of gunfire. She shook harder, yet still didn’t drop down low enough to avoid another hit. I glanced in the direction where the shots were coming from. I was no expert, but from the angle, the shooter was probably on a roof. That would give him a great view of the parking lot and me, if I came out from behind the truck to help her.

I’d get shot if I did that. That was probably the gunman’s plan: wing the blonde in order to lure me out. 

“Help me,” the blonde girl whispered.

She had blue eyes like my sister. She looked to be about Jasmine’s age, too. And she was caught up in a war she didn’t even know existed.

Stay where you are! a dark sense of self-preservation urged me. If this girl can’t duck, that’s her problem!

Don’t you dare! my conscience snapped back. She doesn’t deserve this. These shooters are here for you, not her!

This might be reckless, but I couldn’t leave her out in the open. If the gunman had winged her once to get my attention, he’d do it again, and she might not survive the next one. I rose from my crouch to get better traction, then stared at her.

Here I come, I mouthed.

***

You can preorder THE BRIGHTEST EMBERS at these places or your favorite retailer: 
Amazon | B & N | Book Depository | iBooks | IndieBound | Powells

Special Halloween chat with giveaways

As I mentioned in my last post, I'll be doing a special chat on Halloween (October 31st) to celebrate the 10 year publication anniversary of my very first novel, Halfway to the Grave. I now have a time for this chat. It will be from 3pm - 4pm EST. During this chat, I'll be giving away some books, some gift cards, AND posting some lines from the upcoming first Night Rebel novel (Ian & Veritas). So, if you want to hang out, possibly win some stuff, get a sneak peek at Ian's upcoming book, and ask me some questions, please join me on Halloween from 3 - 4pm EST. You can find me on Twitter at @Jeaniene_Frost or at this link: https://twitter.com/Jeaniene_Frost

As you can see, Loki has his pumpkin and he is ready to help out with this chat  ;) . 

Get your scare (and chat!) on this Halloween

Hi everyone! First, thanks for all the Ian pic recommendations. I've sent my favorites to my editor. I'll admit: she and I both agreed that combing through many, many, MANY pics of hot guys both from my website blog and the 400+ comments on my Facebook page was a lot more fun than our normal "work" ;). 

But let's jump from hotties to horror, shall we? It's the later part of October, or as I like to call it, Candy and Horror Movie season. I've been a fan of horror movies all the way back to my childhood, when I would sneak to watch them after my parents fell asleep. Since sharing is caring, here are some of my favorites. I tried to keep this list to mostly movies from the past 20 years since if I went all the way back to my first horror loves, I'd be dating myself in a big way, heh. Without further ado, here they are: 

The Babysitter (2017)

The Scream series

Trick r Treat

Tucker and Dale vs Evil

Occulus

It (2017)

Jeepers Creepers 2

Jennifer's Body

The Ring

Paranormal Activity

It Follows

Get Out

The Conjuring

Sinister

28 Days Later

Alien vs Predator

Shaun of the Dead

Friday the 13th 1, 2, and Jason X

Halloween H20

 

And we can't forget the TV shows, right? Here are some of those. Again, as with movie favorites, I know I'm probably missing a few because my memory sucks. Plus, I don't count paranormal shows as "horror," so you won't see paranormal favorites like iZombie, The Originals, Vampire Diaries, Teen Wolf or Supernatural here. Honestly, Stan Against Evil probably doesn't below because it's more funny than scary, but I love it so much, I had to list it ;). Or, to quote bff Ilona Andrews' recent Tweet to me: "Stan Against Evil. Hulu. Do it!"

The Strain

Stan Against Evil

Penny Dreadful

Stranger Things

Apparitions (check)

American Horror Story (seasons 1 and 3 ONLY)

 

Instead of my usual binge-watching horror movies/shows while munching on my favorite candies, this Halloween, I'll also be doing a Twitter chat. The time is undetermined as of yet, but I'll announce it soon. If you don't already follow me on Twitter yet, here is my page so you can ask me your burning questions about characters/books/writing/plots/etc, or just chat, if you're free: https://twitter.com/Jeaniene_Frost 

or, if you're looking for me while you're on Twitter, I'm at: @Jeaniene_Frost 

And now, what are some of your favorite horror movies/tv shows? I'm always in the market for recommendations :). 

Ian book news and a request for pics

Hello again! Long blog silence, I know. To sum it up, every time I thought I had a moment to blog, something else came up that claimed my attention. But, now I'm back, and I have both Ian book news and a request.

First up, as many of you know, Ian will be the next character to get his own series. This will be called the Night Rebel series and as of now, I'm promising at least two books. Not promising more yet because we all know how bad I am at estimating the number of books in a series (see: my wrong guesses about the Night Huntress and the Night Prince series ;)). Veritas will be the heroine of the Night Rebel series. I've already started writing book one, and I JUST heard from my editor about the release date. So, without further ado...

Night Rebel book one, title to come, will release on October 30th, 2018.

When I announced this on Twitter yesterday, I received a bunch of comments saying (paraphrase) "A year?! Why is the book so FAR AWAY?" It's because I'm nowhere near done writing it yet :). Some of you might remember that I just finished The Brightest Embers (last Broken Destiny book, releasing November 30th, 2017) about three months ago, and finishing a book is not actually the end of a book. There are still lots of revisions to be done, such as making changes according to my two critique partners' notes - thank you Melissa Marr and Ilona Andrews! - then making changes according to my official editor's notes, then revising again according to the copy editor's notes, and then final tweaks on the galley pages. In short, "The End" really just means "Take One." However, I would never want to publish a book without all these steps. Each one makes the book better, and when I put a book out into the world, I want it to be the best that it can be. Not the fastest that it can be.

But enough shop talk, right? Let's get to the request part. My publisher is hiring a male model for the Night Rebel series cover shoot, and they want my input so they can try to match who I have in my mind for Ian when they pick the model. Problem is, I can't think of anyone who really represents Ian to me, so I need your help. Please reply in the comments with a pic of the guy (or guys) who most reminds you of Ian. You can post as many pics as you like. I'll choose my favorites from among them and send them to my editor. Remember: these don't have to be pictures of male book cover models. They can be pictures of actors, magazine models, a hot guy in a perfume ad, etc. These pics are only a guideline to my publisher, so they can say "We want a model that looks most like [insert guy from one of the pictures you reply with]"

Thank you so much in advance!

Weary wave and upcoming event/appeance

Hi everyone. Sorry for the blog silence this past month. On my last post, I said that my husband had caught a cold. Well, that "cold" was actually acute bronchitis that turned into pneumonia. He could barely get out of bed for two weeks (yes, we followed up with doctors to make sure he didn't need to be hospitalized) so I was hopping around  trying to take care of him. Thankfully, my own immune system held out during those first two weeks, but in week three, it threw in the towel. I came down with the worst case of bronchitis that I can remember getting. An Xray last week showed that I did not catch his pneumonia, too (relief!), but I had to get on a second round of antibiotics because the first one didn't clear up all my bronchitis. I'm finally feeling better now, but that also means that I'm trying to get caught up on my bulging inbox and other work things. 

Speaking of work things, heh, next week is NOLA StoryCon! I'm really looking forward to seeing old friends and meeting new people there. Plus, it's New Orleans, so in addition to the events scheduled around the convention, there also will be a plate of beignets and a cup of chicory coffee with my name on it, guaranteed ;).

If you haven't seen the prior Facebook post, this will also be the last NOLA StoryCon for the foreseeable future, so this one will hold a special place in my heart. While NOLA StoryCon has been a blast to co-host along with fellow authors Melissa Marr and Kelley Armstrong, it's also been a lot of work, and we all have our own busy schedules already. If you're interested in attending, tickets will be on sale for a few more days. Get yours here .

Finally, I couldn't end this post without offering a bunch of love and support to all the people affected by Hurricane Harvey. If you haven't already donated to help those still displaced and suffering, please consider doing so. Here are some handy links for you, too:

American Red Cross

Feeding Texas

Houston Food Bank

Humane Society of the United States

Austin Pets Alive