E.J. Russell's Blog, page 6
April 2, 2018
Tested in Fire Blog Tour
Art Medium Blog Tour, Phase Two
Tested in Fire, the second book in my Art Medium “supernatural romantic suspense” series, releases today, April 2nd! I’ll be touring the blogosphere all week to welcome the book into the world, so please join me at one (or more!) of these lovely blogs. Leave a comment for a chance to win a $25 Amazon gift card and ebook copies of my Legend Tripping series!
April 2, 2018 – The Novel Approach
April 2, 2018 – Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents
April 2, 2018 – La Crimson Femme
April 2, 2018 – Real Talk Book Talk
April 3, 2018 – Love Bytes Reviews
April 3, 2018 – Erotica For All
April 3, 2018 – TTC Books and More
April 3, 2018 – Unquietly Me
April 4, 2018 – OMG Reads
April 4, 2018 – Jessie G Book Reviews
April 4, 2018 – We Three Queens
April 4, 2018 – Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words
April 5, 2018 – Butterfly-o-Meter
April 5, 2018 – Bayou Book Junkie
April 5, 2018 – Book Reviews and More by Kathy
April 5, 2018 – MM Good Book Reviews
April 5, 2018 – From Top to Bottom Reviews
April 6, 2018 – Dog-Eared Daydreams
April 6, 2018 – Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews
April 6, 2018 – The Day Before You Came
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March 25, 2018
The Druid Next Door is a 2018 RITA® Finalist!
The Druid Next Door is a 2018 RITA® Finalist!
Each year, Romance Writers of America® conducts two contests–the RITA® for published novels and novellas, and the Golden Heart® for manuscripts by as-yet-unpublished writers. The stated purpose of these contests is to promote excellence in the romance genre–and this year, one of my books has been named a finalist!
I’m thrilled, humbled, overwhelmed, and a little bit terrified–because the awards are presented at a black tie event at the RWA national conference in July and now I have to find something to wear so I don’t look like I just crawled out from under a rock in my writing cave!
Cranky exiled fae + unawakened druid
Recipe for disaster or Faerie’s last hope?
Find out in The Druid Next Door.
The post The Druid Next Door is a 2018 RITA® Finalist! appeared first on E.J. Russell.
February 12, 2018
The Artist’s Touch Release Date!
The Artist’s Touch releases today! This book is in my “supernatural romantic suspense” category, and is the first in the Art Medium series. It’s the significantly revised and expanded version of my first published book, Northern Light (which is no longer in print). I was thrilled to be able to revisit the story with my editors at Riptide, not to mention scoring a gorgeous new cover by L.C. Chase! The second book, Tested in Fire, is coming April 2nd, with the further adventures of Luke and Stefan.
The book’s blog tour launches today too. You can see the full list of stops here. Be sure to stop by and leave a comment for a chance to win the series prize–a $40 Riptide gift card–which will be awarded after the Tested in Fire tour. Thank you!
The post The Artist’s Touch Release Date! appeared first on E.J. Russell.
February 6, 2018
Read My Yips
From the time my twin sons learned to talk until their first years in grade school, they struggled with a couple of different speech difficulties. When they were in first grade, the school did an assessment and recommended speech therapy for them. They both had the sibilant S lisp, and in addition, L-Y replacement. (Yes, not only do they look alike, but they talked alike too.)
My brother had the same issue, and my sons’ speech therapist told me that specific kinds of speech disorders are actually hereditary, so the predisposition was present in their genes, poor guys.
This resulted in some very interesting conversations when the boys were four or five, such as when DS B told someone to “Get a yife.” Or when, in an argument with someone (about the availability of cake, as I recall), he stomped his foot and barked, “Read my yips!”
They managed to surmount the L-Y hurdle (as did my brother), but they weren’t particularly compliant with their speech homework, so they’ve both still got residual S sibilance. Both them have first names that end with S (although DS B has adopted a nickname that ends with K instead). Poor DS A has both a first and middle name ending in S—obvious poor planning on our part as parents.
Because of my experience with my sons, I gave Riley Morrel, my folklorist hero in Stumptown Spirits, mild rhotacism—the inability or difficulty in pronouncing the R sound. People familiar with Bugs Bunny cartoons sometimes refer to this as the “Elmer Fudd” syndrome, since that character had a similar speech disorder. Most of the time, Riley consciously tries to avoid words containing the letter R. He’s had years of speech therapy, but in times of stress (especially stress involving Logan!), his control lapses and he reverts to old speech patterns.
I have slight residual R-W trouble myself (which can be inconvenient, considering my last name begins with R). When my sons were in fifth grade, they were friends with another set of twins, whose names were Wyatt and Riley (disclaimer: I didn’t choose my character’s name because of him!). I was never able to say those boys’ names in one sentence without thinking about it really hard.
Luckily, typing “Riley Morrel” is much easier than saying it—which is great for me, but not so much for my Stumptown hero. **Sigh** Poor Riley, the hapless victim of nefarious planning on the part of his creator.
(Note: This post originally appeared at TTC Books and More as part of the Stumptown Spirits blog tour.)
The post Read My Yips appeared first on E.J. Russell.
January 31, 2018
The Artist’s Touch Blog Tour
Art Medium Blog Tour, Phase 1
The Artist’s Touch (the retitled, revised, and significantly expanded version of my very first published book, Northern Light) releases on February 12th from Riptide Publishing! To celebrate, I’ll be touring the blogoverse, stopping at these lovely sites. After Tested in Fire, the second book in the series, releases in April, I’ll be giving away a series tour prize: a $40 Riptide gift card. So please join me on the tour and leave a comment for a chance to win!
February 12, 2018 – Joyfully Jay
February 12, 2018 – Bayou Book Junkie
February 12, 2018 – Open Skye
February 12, 2018 – Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews
February 13, 2018 – Love Bytes Reviews
February 13, 2018 – Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents
February 13, 2018 – The Day Before You Came
February 13, 2018 – La Crimson Femme
February 14, 2018 – MM Good Book Reviews
February 14, 2018 – Book Reviews and More by Kathy
February 14, 2018 – OMG Reads
February 14, 2018 – Erotica for All
February 14, 2018 – Unquietly Me
February 15, 2018 – Real Talk Book Talk
February 15, 2018 – Jessie G Books
February 15, 2018 – Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words
February 15, 2018 – From Top to Bottom Reviews
February 15, 2018 – Dog-Eared Daydreams
February 16, 2018 – We Three Queens
February 16, 2018 – The Novel Approach
February 16, 2018 – TTC Books and More
December 28, 2017
Art Medium Series Available for Pre-Order!
Art Medium series is available for pre-order from Riptide!
The Artist’s Touch and Tested in Fire, the first two titles in my Art Medium series, are available for pre-order from Riptide! These books are what I’ve started calling my “supernatural romantic suspense” genre, which also includes the Legend Tripping series.
The Artist’s Touch is the newly retitled, revised, and significantly expanded (by a quarter to a third) version of my very first published book, Northern Light. If you purchased Northern Light, you won’t notice many big plot differences, but there are several new scenes and enhancements to Luke and Stefan’s story.
Tested in Fire is the further adventures of Luke and Stefan, starting about six months after the events in The Artist’s Touch.
The books have gorgeous covers by L.C. Chase–check out the cover reveal on The Novel Approach!
Look for The Artist’s Touch release on February 12th and Tested in Fire on April 2nd!
December 26, 2017
Nyctophobia
A while ago, one of my writing partners sprang a new word on me: nyctophobia, the fear of the dark.
Nyctophobia is probably one of our innate primal fears. After all, our species is driven to survive, right? How can we manage our safety efficiently if we can’t see what’s out there?
Ultimately, though, it’s not being alone in the dark that’s so frightening. It’s the possibility that you’re not alone, and that whatever is sharing your suddenly too-small space is approaching with malevolent—or perhaps culinary—intent.
Maybe that’s one of the reasons Halloween is frightening. Not the ersatz ghosts, the movie-slasher-du-jour clones, or Disneyfied zombies patrolling the streets in search of caaaannnnddddyyyy, but the encroaching darkness. The days are shorter. More darkness for unknown creepy things to lurk in. Why do you suppose bonfires are a Halloween tradition? Because they keep the dark at bay, at least for a while.
I live in the hills in rural Oregon. Occasionally, rumors roll around our neighborhood of mountain lion sightings. We hear about evidence: a smeared footprint in the mud of an unpaved driveway; droppings that couldn’t come from a horse or a deer; the call of a pheasant, cut off mid-screech.
During the day, safe inside the house or bumping over the driveway potholes encased in the metal shell of my car, I can ignore those rumors. Scoff, even.
But at night, when I step outside to toss trash into the bin, the porch light illuminating me like the wilds’ tastiest midnight snack, it’s another story. What’s out there beyond the feeble circle of light? Is something moving in the trees? What caused that crunch of gravel? My back twitches with the caterpillar-creep of the flight reflex and I scurry back inside and slam the door, flicking on lights in the modern version of a bonfire.
Safe.
Then I head upstairs to write another ghost story.
(Note: This post originally appeared at Erotica for All as part of the Stumptown Spirits blog tour.)
December 24, 2017
Five Random Things
According to the Meyers-Briggs scale, I’m a 100% introvert. Consequently, I don’t get out much, although I make every effort not to go completely feral here in my writing cave. In that spirit, here are five random things about me.
1) I don’t drink coffee. Never have. (Well, okay. Once or twice in college, but I never, you know, inhaled.)
Tea, though. Tea is awesome. Lately, though, it’s nearly impossible to find a non-herbal tea in a restaurant that isn’t Earl Grey. I hate Earl Grey — oil of bergamot and I do not mix. My current favorite is #18 (Brahmin) by Steven Smith Teamaker—a Portland company!
2) My first job was at a hamburger stand in Disneyland.
I had to join the Hotel, Restaurant, and Bartenders union (Disneyland is a total union shop — or at least it was back in the early seventies). I worked there for about a year, and when I left, I was earning a whopping $1.71 per hour.
3) I once skated on the same ice as Tonya Harding. (She was just a trifle better than I was.)
Between the Nancy Kerrigan knee-bashing and the Jeff Gillooly hubcap-flinging incident, she coached briefly at the ice rink where our family was taking lessons. The rink was in the middle of a shopping mall, so the caliber of skaters wasn’t exactly Olympic quality. Watching her speed and power over the ice was pretty damned awe-inspiring. My daughter, who was in grade school at the time and in full drama princess mode, was impressed on her own behalf regarding Tonya. Who cared about Tonya’s skill? In skating network theory, by skating on the same ice, my daughter was only two degrees of separation from Michelle Kwan. Squeeee!
4) I have an extensive collection of Marx Brothers memorabilia.
I started collecting books, pictures, even statuary, in high school after reading Harpo’s hilarious autobiography, Harpo Speaks. In those days, before cable and Netflix, it wasn’t easy to score a showing of a Marx Brothers movie—it was years before I finally saw Animal Crackers—but my friends and I managed. I remember standing in line for the bobsled ride at Disneyland, trading lines from one of Groucho’s scenes with Chico. Harpo was—and still is—my favorite, but it was difficult to trade any of his lines without a bicycle horn or a table over which to chase a convenient blonde.
5) In my first year as a theater administration graduate student at the Yale School of Drama, Glenn Close threatened to kill me.
It was in my first rotation, in the press office, and a second-year student and I were reviewing the proof sheets from the photo shoot for Uncle Vanya, in which Ms. Close was appearing as Yelena. This was before the release of The World According to Garp, her first big film, and she was known mainly for stage work. Ms. Close has a very forceful jaw—which I rather admire, actually—but in one of the shots, the photographer caught her at an awkward angle and she looked exactly like Ruth Buzzi’s Gladys Ormphby character. I showed it to Ms. Close — I thought she might be amused.
Not so much. Hence the death threat: “If you print that, I’ll kill you.”
Since I didn’t print the photo, I guess we’ll never know if she was serious.
(Note: This post originally appeared at Sinfully Gay Romance Book Reviews as part of the Stumptown Spirits blog tour. I’ve added a picture of my Harpo statue, but it’s otherwise unchanged.)
December 23, 2017
Done is Good
We broke ground on the first addition to our house when our twin sons were eight months old. They turn twenty-six this summer and the house is still not finished. Some doors still have no doorknobs. The trim is unpainted in random spots. The skylights in the kitchen are still rough drywall. I could go on.
This doesn’t bother my Curmudgeonly Husband—at least not enough for him to do anything about it. But CH is a “process” person. For him, the joy is in the doing, no matter how long it takes, and if he no longer gets pleasure from the doing, he simply stops.
My motto, on the other hand, is Done is good. That’s because I’m a “product” person. For me, the joy is in being done. I remember the rush I used to get in high school and college, when I finished writing a paper or completed a project. This was an occasion, damn it. It should be celebrated!
Sadly, there was seldom anyone around who either A) cared (“You finished. That’s nice.”) or could participate (“Are you crazy? I’m only half-way done with mine. I hate you. Now go away.”).
These days, my product persona kicks in big time when I’m writing. I’m a plotter, so when I sit down to write my first draft, I already have a detailed list of events laid out in Scrivener (I use Todd Klick’s Something Startling Happens beats, coupled with a plotting system devised by the awesome Suzanne Johnson). I start pounding out that first draft PDQ, in thirty-minute writing sprints. Every thirty minutes, I know I’ve gotten something done! High five, me!
Then, invariably, I hit—(cue ominous drums)—the Death Zone. The Death Zone is that spot in the story, more or less between 45% and 55% along. In other words, the big scary middle. Something major has to happen, but even though I know what that something is, even though I’ve plotted both the in and the out, the Zone still body-slams me. Every. Freaking. Time.
It’s a totally a mental game. I know it, but that doesn’t make the experience any less agonizing. This is the spot where process and product collide. I’ve gotten past the first excitement of building the story, but I’m not far enough in yet to see the finish line. Imagine the middle of the story as a mountaintop, and I’m Sisyphus, shoving that rock up the final slope. Will the rock roll back and crush me, or will I make it over the top to the other side?
But I keep slogging, keep pushing, and once I’ve passed the 55% mark, it’s all downhill, like the last swoop of a roller coaster. When I get to that last beat and type The End?
Rush! Victory dance! Celebratory toasts!
Then I reboot my brain and start up the next mountain, pursuing another product . . . in my still unfinished house.
(Note: This post originally appeared on My Fiction Nook as part of the Stumptown Spirits blog tour in May of 2016–I’ve updated my sons’ ages, but nothing else. Since then, our house has actually gone backwards: we had a pinhole leak in the ice maker hose that we didn’t notice for months. As a result, CH ripped up our kitchen floor and the old peninsula–which we hated anyway. That was last March and we’re still marching around on the underlayment!)
December 8, 2017
Rainbow Awards 2017
2017 Rainbow Awards Excitement!
The 2017 Rainbow Awards were announced December 8th, and I was thrilled with the results! A huge thank you to Elisa Rolle, who works so tirelessly to organize the awards every year. This year, the event raised over $13,000 to donate to LGBTQ+ charities.
Wolf’s Clothing won Best Bisexual Paranormal Romance, and was a finalist in Best Bisexual Book!
“The continuation of Russell’s Legend Tripping series lives up the the guantlet thrown down by book one. Trent and Christophe manage to find their way to each other, despite their differences. I enjoyed Russell’s take on the wolf shifter mythos. Unlike anything I have read before.”
“The author creates intriguing plots and subplots, and interesting characters, all wrapped in a wonderful writing style. A superb read.”
The Druid Next Door was awarded Best Gay Fantasy Romance, and was a runner up in Best Gay Book!
“One word to describe this book: Cute! I really liked Mal and Bryce together. At times they make an odd couple but they really match to perfection. This was a well-written fantasy story filled with these couple’s oddness and romance. At times you’ll laugh, at others, you’ll wonder if they’ll make it out alive from the turmoil brought to them at the fairy realm. Bravo, Ms. Russell. Well done!”
Cutie and the Beast tied for second in Best Gay Fantasy Romance, and was a finalist for Best Gay Book!
Clickbait was awarded Honorable Mention in the Gay Romantic Comedy category!
“I absolutely love the two main characters. They are complex and likable, with relatable problems and great chemistry. They’re excellent foils for each other, without being caricatures. Alex Henning, the hot, brawny construction worker with equally heavyweight brains, a heart of gold, and unexpected emotional depths, will remain one of my all-time favorite characters. It’s also a good emotional coming-of-age story for gun-shy Gideon Wallace, whose early experience left him too cautious to enjoy a real relationship. Really an enjoyable story. Loved it.”
“I loved the variety of characters, the interesting setting, and the real life issues they all had to deal with. Gideon and Alex, along with the supporting cast, have a variety of situations and issues they are faced with, their work is not just a thing mentioned in passing, and they are forced to deal with how life, love, friendship, and daily mishaps blend together to create a whirlwind they have to untangle. The story challenges both characters and the reader to look beyond their fears and prejudice, without lecturing anyone. Lessons are learned the way they should be: to trial and frequent errors. As the plot develops, the characters show more of themselves, and everything, including the romance, seems very real.”
“This was a wonderful book, especially if you like holiday stories. The characters were well thought out and original. The plot was interesting and nicely wound through the romance. I loved the geeky chapter headers as well.”
