Jeaniene Frost's Blog, page 49

New Orleans recap

I’ve mentioned before that New Orleans is one of my favorite cities, so I was very excited to spend Halloween weekend there. Hubby, doggie daughter, and I arrived Thursday night in the Big Easy after a long drive in from Florida. The French Quarter was showing off its holiday spirit by having spooky decorations along many of the balconies or in store windows, and it was refreshingly cooler than in Florida. That first night, we had a nice dinner with my brother-in-law and sister-in-law, my niece, and her boyfriend, who also came up for the weekend. After that, I might have snuck in some beignets for dessert, but I’ll never tell . 

 The next morning, hubby woke up with the beginnings of a cold that turned into bronchitis (I blame Bourbon Street because by then, I’d been over my bronchitis for a week). So that put a damper on our plans, but he was determined to do as much as possible because he loves New Orleans even more than I do. We went on a cemetery tour with the family in the afternoon, then had a good time at the Memnoch Resurrection Ball Friday night. I finally got to meet the lovely Suzie Q in person, and was green with envy over Teresa’s gorgeous gothic ball gown. Someone (Becci?) even showed up to the ball dressed as Cat! She looked great, too, with a red wig and high heeled boots. If you’re cursing me for not getting pictures, so am I, but by the time I saw both of them, we were already on the way out because hubby was starting to hack in earnest. Didn’t think anyone would appreciate being coughed all over.  Here are some pics from the ball. Click on them if you want to enlarge: 

Me and my husband, Matthew

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From left, my niece Amy, me, and my sister-in-law, Tricia. No, Tricia and I weren't wearing the coolest headdresses ever - those were the chandeliers behind us.

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From left, my brother-in-law Mike, niece's boyfriend Mark, and hubby Matthew.

. Saturday morning was the Undead Con panel with fellow authors Karen Essex and Jude Stephens. We talked about our paths to publication, inspiration behind our stories, and pushing the limit in certain scenes when necessary. Our audience asked several great questions, too, and having them involved in the discussion is my favorite part of being on a panel. I didn’t bring my camera to the panel (damn my forgetfulness!) but here’s a picture that Trish snapped and kindly posted on my Facebook page: 

Me and Trish

.After the panel, we had a mini signing and I got the chance to chat a little more with people, plus with Karen, Suzi, Jude, and Teresa. Big thanks again to Teresa, who initially invited me to come to New Orleans, and to Suzi, who arranged for me to be on the panel. Hope to see everyone again in the future! Hubby’s bronchitis really kicked in Saturday night, so we stayed in, which made our little dog very happy. I swear she has supernatural powers to make one of us sick every time we travel with her so she spends less time by herself in the hotel room. Don’t let her cuteness fool you – beneath that cuddly fur lies a manipulating heart and merciless ability to strike us with ailments so she can get more attention! ..

I might look adorable, but my powers know no bounds!

.Halloween night, we had a nice dinner at Dicki Brennans Steakhouse and then curled up to watch the Saints spank the Steelers in football. The next morning, it was time to pack up the car and head back to FL. Farewell, New Orleans. Hope to visit you again in the future. While I was away, two cool things happened: ETERNAL KISS OF DARKNESS was nominated for a Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice award for best vampire romance, and ONE FOOT IN THE GRAVE came out in audio format. No, I haven’t listened to it yet, so I have no idea how Chapter 32 comes across spoken versus written, heh (and my apologies to the narrator, Tavia, who must have wanted to kill me when she read that scene, lol). Now that I’m back and my inbox is (mostly) caught up, it’s time for me to knuckle down and finish writing Cat and Bones #6. I’m in the thirty day window from when the book is due, so online time will be scarce between now and when I type those magic words, “the end.” Hope everyone has a wonderful November! Happy Thanksgiving to all my US peeps, too. You may see an occasional Tweet or FB update  from me, but if cobwebs start to form around my blog, don’t worry. I’ll brush them away come December when the book is done .

Mirrored from Frost Light.

"Spread the Word" contest winners!

Sorry for the delay in posting this. Came back from New Orleans right before midnight Monday night (more about that in a later post, with pictures!) and had a splitting migraine the next day. Then Wednesday, I spent a lot of time doing laundry, dishes, trying to tame the overgrown inbox, and other not-fun-but-necessary things. I still owe emails to more than a few people, and to that I say, I'm working on it .

But that's not what you're reading this post for, right? You want to know about the winners for the Spread the Word contest, so let's get to it! The contest closed on Halloween night at midnight, and here are the winners and their prizes…

 
Five (5) Third Place winners who will receive a copy of ORPHAN OF DESTINY, book three in Michael Spradlin's Youngest Templar series are: Crystal Broyles, Poppy Arakelian, Meaghan Stevens, Joella Perez, and Lenore Mulligan.
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One (1) Second Place winner who will receive a $25.00 gift card from either Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Borders, Powells, Chapters, or Books-A-Million, winner's choice which, is: Amber Barnes.
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One (1) Grand Prize winner who will receive a brand-spanking new Kindle 6″ with WiFi (this one specifically, no substitutions), OR a Nook with WiFi (this one specifically, NOT the 3G, no substitutions ) OR a Kobo with Wifi (this one specifically, no substitutions), winner's choice ereader, is: Marlene Breakfield.
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Congrats to all the winners, and thank so much to everyone who helped spread the word for ORPHAN OF DESTINY!

Mirrored from Frost Light.

New Orleans schedule

As I mentioned in previous blogs, I'll be spending this Halloween weekend in one of my favorite cities: New Orleans. Several people asked if I would be doing a signing or other author event while there, and the answer is yes. Sorry for the delay in posting my schedule, but the details were just finalized yesterday.

If you'll be in the New Orleans area this weekend, here's where you can find me:

Saturday, October 30th.

10:30 am – 12:pm

Undead Con at the Hotel Monteleone  (214 Royal Street, French Quarter, New Orleans)

Panel: Getting Published. Chat with authors Jeaniene Frost, Karen Essex, and Jude Stephens about overcoming obstacles; the writing process, and more. Book signing to follow hosted by Garden District Book Store. **Note: ** This event was just added and is not on the Undead Con website yet, but don't worry. It's official.

More information and to purchase tickets for Undead Con, go here: http://vampirelestatfanclub.com/undeadcon/

I'll also be at the Memnoch Resurrection Ball on Friday night, but that's not an "author" event for me. That's a "Whee, I'm at a cool ball where I get to hang out with people while wearing a costume!" event . If you see me at the ball, please feel free to come up and say hi – I might have fake fangs on, but I don't bite! - however, I'm not signing books that night (though I doubt anyone would want to carry books under their costume anyway, heh).

And to everyone, have a safe, fun, and wonderful Halloween!

Mirrored from Frost Light.

"Haunted" is on the loose!

A question I get asked a lot is, "Do you have story ideas about creatures other than vampires, ghosts, and ghouls?" The answer is yes, and I give you HAUNTED BY YOUR TOUCH as my Exhibit A . My story, Night's Darkest Embrace, features a world a lot like ours, except the average person doesn't realize that demons, partial demons, fallen angels, and gateways to other dimensions exist. From the back of the book:  

"Enter the dark realm of Nocturna in Jeaniene Frost's red-hot tale, where blisteringly sexy Rafael dominates the demons of a lawless dimension and tries to help a beautiful young woman avenge her cousin's disappearance. Shayla Black's gorgeous Doomsday Brethren hero, Raiden, vows to fight for his magical lover and their unborn youngling—no matter the cost—after he drives her into the arms of another man and she falls under attack. Lycans rule the night in Sharie Kohler's suspenseful story, as a fiery woman stalks mysterious Luc, the undeniably hypnotic being she believes can save her from turning . . . if she kills him. Danger beckons in these captivating paranormal tales that will tempt readers to the edge and leave them begging for more."
 
Night Owl Reviews selected HAUNTED BY YOUR TOUCH as a Top Pick and had this to say: "A fabulous collection…This is a book paranormal romance/urban fantasy fans won't want to miss." (Full review here)
 
Seduced by Books said, "This book is HOT!  Three very seductive, steamy, suspenseful stories in one book had me riveted." (full review here)
 
And Romance Reviews Today said, "With stories sure to tempt you to the dark side, look for this engaging anthology." (full review up Nov. 1st) 
 
I really enjoyed writing Night's Darkest Embrace and hope readers enjoy it, too. If you want to check out the first 20%, go here: http://jeanienefrost.com/other-works/haunted-by-your-touch/ 
 
Of course, HAUNTED BY YOUR TOUCH has more than just my story in it. I share this anthology with two fabulous authors, Shayla Black and Sharie Kohler. Look for Shayla's story, Mated, and Sharie's story, Darkest Temptation. To read an excerpt of Mated, go here: http://www.shaylablack.com/hauntedbyyourtouch.html
 
 
HAUNTED BY YOUR TOUCH is available now. You can pick up a copy at Amazon , Borders , Barnes & Noble , BooksAMillion , Powells , Diesel Ebooks , The Book Depository , or your favorite book store.
 

Mirrored from Frost Light.

"Spread the Word" special contest

Hi everyone. I’m announcing a very special Spread the Word contest for author and publishing professional, Michael Spradlin. I remember the first time I met Mike in 2006. I’d just sold Halfway to the Grave and I was at the Avon author’s dinner during my first writers convention. I knew absolutely no one. It felt like having your first day at a new school occur during the homecoming dance. Mike probably doesn’t even remember me from that night, but he chatted with me during the dinner and was so nice, I felt less like a party crasher and more like a new member of the Avon Books team.

 Michael Spradlin’s third novel in his Youngest Templar series, ORPHAN OF DESTINY, comes out on October 28th.

 
       Description:Tristan and his companions—the fiery archer Robard Hode and the assassin maid Maryam—have escaped to England. But tragedy has occurred to Tristan’s beloved abbey while they were on the Third Crusade, and Robard’s home in Sherwood Forest suffers under the rule of the Sheriff of Nottingham. Many obstacles still prevent them from delivering the Holy Grail into safe hands. Tristan must defeat the evil Sir Hugh in one final battle. And he must learn the secret of his birth, a secret Richard the Lionheart and Eleanor of Aquitaine are willing to kill to protect! More info here: http://www.michaelspradlin.com/books/youngest-templar/orphan.php   Normally Michael would be doing what all authors do by making the internet rounds promoting his book, but he’s got his priorities in the right order. You see, a family member is having some serious medical issues, so Mike is spending his time concentrating on her instead of on his book’s release. I think all of us would agree with Mike that family is far more important than promoting a new book, but we also know that if readers aren’t aware that a book is out, they won’t have the chance to decide to buy it or not. As a fellow author who remembers Mike’s kindness to me during a stressful event (though far less stressful than worrying about a family member’s health) I wanted to help him out. Mike might not be able to make the internet rounds to let readers know that his book is releasing, but I can try to spread the word for him – with your help. And that brings us to the contest. Here are the prizes:  One (1) Grand Prize winner will receive a brand-spanking new Kindle 6″ with WiFi ( this one specifically, no substitutions ), OR a Nook with WiFi ( this one specifically, NOT the 3G, no substitutions  ) OR a Kobo with Wifi ( this one specifically, no substitutions ) . It’s winner’s choice which e-reader he or she wants, but one e-reader is all the Grand Prize winner gets ). This part of the contest is open to US residents only. Winner’s shipping address must be in the United States or you will be disqualified and a new winner will be chosen. One (1) Second Place winner will receive a $25.00 gift card from either Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Borders, Powells, Chapters, or Books-A-Million, winner’s choice which place he or she wants, but one $25.00 gift card is all the Second Place winner gets ). This part of the contest is open to US residents, Canada, and the UK only. Gift card will be in US dollars. Winner’s shipping address must be in the United States, Canada, or the UK only or you will be disqualified and a new winner will be chosen. Five (5) Third Place winners will receive a copy of ORPHAN OF DESTINY, book three in Michael Spradlin’s Youngest Templar series. This part of the contest for the free books is open to all readers regardless of where in the world you live.  There are three different ways you can enter the contest. You can do one or all of these, your choice which. Please read these rules carefully because you must follow them exactly: 1. Copy and paste Mike’s book cover, description, and release date into a new blog post, emailing me the link at JeanieneFprizes AT yahoo DOT com  for verification. This is good for ten (10) entries into the contest. No link for verification in your email means no entry into the contest. 2. Pre-order a copy of ORPHAN OF DESTINY, or order either book one or two in the Youngest Templar series (KEEPER OF THE GRAIL or TRAIL OF FATE). Email me your receipt at JeanieneFprizes AT yahoo DOT com  for verification. This is good for ten (10) entries into the contest. No receipt for verification in your email means no entry into the contest. 3. Re-post a link to this blog on Twitter, Facebook, your blog, or other social media site with a “Help spread the word” note. Then email me the link at  JeanieneFprizes AT yahoo DOT com  for verification. This is good for five (5) entries into the contest. No link for verification in your email means no entry into the contest. All winners will be chosen by Randomizer. Contest opens now and ends October 31st at 11:59pm EST. Winners will be announced in a new blog post and contacted by email. Thanks, good luck, and let’s help Spread the Word for Mike!

Mirrored from Frost Light.

ComiCon recap

This post is very late, but I came back Monday night from ComiCon with (a) great memories and (b) the onslaught of bronchitis, which manifested itself in full force this past week. So I’ve been mostly down the past several days, coughing up things that I won’t describe because anyone who’s had bronchitis already knows. 

 But enough talk of being sick. As the subject line states, let’s talk New York City ComiCon. I arrived in New York Thursday afternoon and had time to unpack and freshen up before going to HarperCollins for a late afternoon “happy hour” with several other authors and some of the awesome Avon and EOS staff. My editor kindly arranged for my drink of choice – Coke Zero – to be there in addition to the beer and wine. Then we were lined up for pictures like the one below, which I swiped from one of Pam Jaffee’s posts because I am terrible about remembering to bring my camera. Click on any pic to make it bigger. 

From left, Jocelynn Drake, Jeaniene Frost, Richard Kadrey, Marjorie Liu, and Pamela Palmer

  Friday morning I started out with meeting my sister for breakfast at the Top of the Towers restaurant. She was in New York celebrating her 40th birthday with some friends, and if my brother-in-law is reading this, they did not go to clubs, but spent the majority of their time in art museums instead *wink*. 

My sister, Jinger, and me.

  After that, I headed to ComiCon, almost being late for my own panel because it took me over half an hour to find a cab. I’d allowed fifty minutes for a ten-minute commute from my hotel to ComiCon, thinking that was an abundance of time, and it turned out to be just barely enough. If I knew where the hell I was going, I could’ve walked in almost the same amount of time that it took me to finally get a cab, but calling me directionally challenged is a kind way to put it. Thankfully, I made it in time to moderate the Fighting Like Cats and Dogs panel which was all about shapeshifters and were-creatures. We had a great bunch of panelists, and the audience had the chance to win several large stuffed animals in homage to our topic (side note: I wanted the dog, but someone else won it, damn it! ). 

From left, Marjorie Liu, Margaret Ronald, Jocelynn Drake, Juliana Stone, Pamela Palmer, and Jeainene Frost

  After that, I wandered around for a little while before heading to – what I thought was - our arranged author signing section. A note about ComiCon? It’s big, and there are so many things going on that it’s easy to get lost, especially for someone with no internal compass like me. My editor found me and led me over to the section with our tables, but since we were early we just hung out instead of starting to set up. I met up with Pam Palmer, who showed me her signed James Marsters picture that she’d gotten for around forty bucks. He was signing a few rows away from our section of tables. Then it was time to set up so we went to our spots, but didn’t see any boxes of books where they were supposed to be. My editor started texting to determine what was up and I started to look for the boxes. While backing up to see if I could spot any boxes hiding underneath the black-draped tables, I bumped into someone with my usual grace (read: I almost knocked him through the cloth divider wall). I was in the midst of babbling out an apology and doing that whole let-me-steady-you-since-I-almost-knocked-you-on-your-ass thing when I recognized who I’d rammed into. James Marsters, a.k.a. Spike from Buffy / Captain John Hart from Torchwood.    He was very gracious, and as he walked away, I blurted out, “Just so you know, I didn’t do that on purpose…but I would have!” That got me a little grin from James and a snicker from his companions. Finally, my clumsiness pays off, lol. Afterward, my editor said, “I saw it about to happen, had a split second where I could’ve warned you, and figured…nah. Let her do it.” Pam Palmer quipped something like, “Well, that was cheaper than my photograph, and you got more contact than a handshake!” Sadly, neither of them had their cameras ready to snap a picture of it. How funny would that have been? As it turned out, the reason our books weren’t there is because we were reassigned a new signing spot at such last minute, no one knew about it. Apologies to any readers who went to the table number listed on my website and couldn’t find where they’d moved us to. Luckily, many readers did find us and I had a great time signing books and chatting with them. A few even had on tee shirts from my shop!  

Her shirt reads, "Chapter 32. Are you properly scandalized?"

Harder to see, but her shirt said, “Hallo, Kitten.”  .I also got to meet Maria from Last Bite Podcast, who’s bravely interviewed me live not once, but twice. Usually people who’ve been subjugated to my babbling only put themselves through that once, heh. .

Me and Maria

  After ComiCon, I met up with my agent, Nancy Yost, and went to dinner. Nancy is such a warm, funny person that it’s always a joy to spend time with her. .

Me and Nancy Yost. If I look a little tired, it's because I was at this point.

  Saturday I made sure to allow extra, extra time to hail a cab, which of course means I found one in five minutes flat. Or, rather, Pam Palmer hailed it and we shared the ride to ComiCon. After wandering around, we settled into the Spotlight on HarperCollins panel where my editor, Erika Tsang, and EOS editor Diana Gill showcased all the upcoming titles for the next six months. 

From left, Erika Tsang, Diana Gill, Jeaniene Frost, and Pamela Palmer

  I thought my job on the panel was just to sit and smile, so I was surprised when I was asked to give a summary of This Side of the Grave. You’d think since I wrote the book, a verbal summary would be a piece of cake, but I suck at those! Don’t believe me? One of the audience members posted an audio of my babbling, so I offer the below as Exhibit A of my verbal summary suckiness. Note: You have to turn volume WAY up. .  After that, I signed books at the Avon booth and then did a video interview with the Science Fiction book club. Then, I left ComiCon to spend some time with my very patient husband, who didn’t get to see much of me for those first two days. We had a really nice dinner and went to see WICKED on Broadway, which I loved insanely. I will forever choose to believe that this was the *actual* story behind the Wicked Witch and Glinda instead of what was portrayed in the Wizard of Oz, and now I’m sorry I didn’t pick up a “defy gravity” tee shirt when I had the chance. We took a rickshaw from the theater back to the hotel, an experience I will never forget. Either my rickshaw driver was high or he longed for death, because he peddled us right in front of traffic on so many occasions that I’m amazed I’m still alive to type this. If you’re into extreme sports, might I recommend riding in a NYC rickshaw as an example of living life on the edge. Sunday was a travel day, where I boarded a train to head back to Florida. It takes a little over a day to go from FL to NY, so I didn’t get home until late afternoon Monday. I did bring back some swag from New York in addition to bronchitis, so look for contests involving cover flats of This Side of the Grave and hilarious “Team Bones” bracelets in the near future. I’m sure I’m leaving a lot out in this recap, but I’ll blame the cold meds instead of my bad memory (even though everyone knows the truth ). I had a great time and want to thank everyone who came to the panels, the signing, or just stopped to chat. You make it fun to travel!

Mirrored from Frost Light.

New book news!

I'm typing this as I wait at the train station in New York after having a wonderful time at ComiCon (look for another post with pictures and details about that later, but I simply couldn't wait to share this news). Remember how I've not-so-subtly hinted on this blog and in other places that I really, really would like to write books on Vlad? And how I had more plot in my head than novels contracted for Cat and Bones's storyline, so I wasn't sure if I'd end the Night Huntress series at book seven like I'd originally intended? 

 
Pretend you remember me saying those things, even if you don't.
 
Well, I am thrilled to announce that I will be writing two more novels for the Night Huntress series, ending Cat and Bones's storyline now at book nine instead of seven. AND, if that wasn't enough to make my day, I am also contracted to write the first two books in a new series featuring – you guessed it – Vlad as the hero and a new character named Leila as the heroine.
 
I am SO excited about the opportunity to extend Cat and Bones's storyline into nine books so I can implement the plans I have for them, instead of cutting things out to squeeze everything into seven books. Plus, anyone who's spoken to me for longer than five minutes knows I've been itching to showcase Vlad in his own books, and I've got just the heroine to give Mr. Hot Hands a run for his money that he'll never be expecting. Right now the tentative plan is for the first Vlad and Leila novel to release in 2012. 2011 will see the releases of the fifth Cat and Bones novel titled This Side of the Grave, Cat and Bones 6 (untitled as of now), and the holiday-themed anthology I'll be in with Lynsay Sands that will also feature and Cat and Bones story (untitled as of now). My publisher and I are not sure if Vlad's new stories will be called Night Huntress World, or something else since it's the start of a new recurring-character series. More data on that once I have it.
 
Of course none of the above could be possible if not for the amazing support readers have given to the Night Huntress series and the Night Huntress World novels. I feel beyond blessed to have the chance to write more stories with the characters that I love. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!!!!
 
*throws confetti and passes out cyber-champagne!*

Mirrored from Frost Light.

Contests ahoy

In lieu of actual content because I’m busy packing for ComiCon and trying to get my inbox all caught up by Wednesday, here’s a list of places where I’m giving away free books. Follow the links if you’re interested in entering to win.
 

My Supernatural Underground blog with giveaway of an Arc of HAUNTED BY YOUR TOUCH here: http://tinyurl.com/2bphsff
 

Interview and giveaway on The Unread Reader for 5 copies of SPEAK by Laurie Halse Anderson here: http://dlvr.it/6SS3M
 

Comment with your opinion on which of my “truths” is really a lie and be entered to win a copy of ETERNAL KISS OF DARKNESS here: http://dlvr.it/6Sbh6
 

Paranormal Haven giving away 2 copies of ETERNAL KISS OF DARKNESS here: http://tinyurl.com/23rjkll
 

Good luck, everyone!

Mirrored from Frost Light.

Podcast and galleys

Wow, Thursday already? This week has flown by. I've spent most of it going through the galley pages for THIS SIDE OF THE GRAVE, something I thought would only take me two days and turned out to take four. For those who aren't familiar with galleys, they're the loose pages that a publisher uses as a template to print Arcs (advance reading copies) of a book. So they're formatted like a book and at this stage, big changes are not usually made to the story. It's funny, by the time I get galleys, I've been through at least one set of revisions based on my critique partner's notes, at least one set of revisions based on my editor's notes, and a revision based on the copyeditor's notes. So you'd think galleys would need very few corrections, right? WRONG. I find stuff every time that I can't believe I didn't notice before, like missing words, wrong words (it's psychics who can see ghosts in my books, not physicists) and a scene where I apparently thought Bones could drive with his eyes closed, just to name a few.  It always makes me crazy that the Arcs will still have all these errors – it's only the final version that will be fixed - but I guess that's why Arcs are stamped with the warning of "uncorrected proof" on them. Future reviewers of THIS SIDE OF THE GRAVE, please accept my apologies in advance for all the errors you'll come across in the Arcs. I think I fixed everything for the final version, at least *fingers crossed*

This past weekend, I had the chance to talk with Tamara and Maria from Last Bite Podcast, two hardy souls who've chatted with me by phone previously and yet still came back for more, heh. We talked about Destined for an Early Grave, Eternal Kiss of Darkness, Cat, Bones, Vlad, Mencheres, Ian, Tate, and actor Bruce Campbell, among other topics. Click the icon below to go to the podcast, or you can find their blog with the podcast link here. Thanks again, ladies! (and really, you know I was kidding about that death threat, right? )

Caution: spoilers for Destined for an Early Grave are discussed in this podcast.

Mirrored from Frost Light.

October appearances

I finally have my complete schedule for New York next month, and some preliminary information about New Orleans. If you're in either of those areas, hopefully I'll get to see you soon!

I will be in New York City, NY for Comicon on October 8th – 9th

Website and information for NYC Comicon:
http://www.newyorkcomiccon.com/

Schedule

Friday, October 8

2:00 – 3:00 pm

Panel: FIGHTING LIKE CATS AND DOGS

In the furball battle for supremacy, what shapeshifter is going to claw, bite, gnaw and scratch its...