Toni Andrews:

I’m reading CROSSROADS OF TWILIGHT by Robert Jordan.  Back in the early nineties, I started reading Robert Jordan’s WHEEL OF TIME series.  I read the first three books before I started having trouble getting the rest of the series from the local library (I definitely couldn’t afford to buy them) and by the time I was able to find book four, I’d lost track of the many (many, many, MANY) characters, locations, crossing plot lines, etc.   Then, last year, I learned that my local library had the entire series available.  I had to start over at the beginning to keep track of all of the detail (and I still wish I’d been taking notes on the geography and politics).  Crossroads of Twilight is the tenth book in the series, and I’m about 1/3 of the way through its 822 pages!  And not the least bit tired of the characters or the story.

Keri Arthur:

I’m reading WHY WE GET FAT and WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT, by Gary Taubes. Basically, he pulls apart most if the current dietary recommendations and tells us why they’re so bad for us. Very interesting reading.

Jenna Black:

The last book I read and was really excited about was BLACK HEART by Holly Black. I absolutely love this series. It’s so original, and the characters are all wonderful. As is the plot. And the voice. And . . . You get my drift.

Rinda Elliott (Dani Worth):

I just started PARTIALS by Dan Wells.

Jackie Kessler:

DEADLOCKED by Charlaine Harris and TRICKED by Kevin Hearne

Karen Mahoney:

I seem to be reading some really different things, lately, which is sort of fun. I’ve just finished Meg Cabot’s first Heather Wells mystery, SIZE 12 IS NOT FAT, which I loved! It was laugh-out-loud (for real) funny, and I could relate to Heather in so many ways. (e.g. She prefers baths to showers, because she’s too lazy to stand up in the shower. ) I’ve already got the next book in the series, SIZE 14 IS NOT FAT EITHER, ready to go on my Kindle.

I’m now reading SHELTER by Harlan Coben, which is the thriller author’s first YA book. It had brilliant reviews and, I have to say, after just two chapters I’m hooked! I’ve not read any of his adult books, but maybe I should try one…
Rachel Vincent:

Last week I read BLACK HEART (loved!) by Holly Black. This week I’m devouring “The Walking Dead” graphic novels in compendium format, and loving them!

Devon Monk:

I just finished AN ICE COLD GRAVE by Charlaine Harris, and I need help!  What should I read next?  Anyone out there have any suggestions?

Now for this week’s new releases:

AS DEAD AS IT GETS – Katie Alender

It’s been three months since Alexis helplessly witnessed Lydia Small’s violent death, and all she wants is for her life to return to normal.

But normal people don’t see decaying bodies haunting photographs. Normal people don’t have to deal with regular intrusions from Lydia’s angry ghost, sometimes escalating to terrifying attacks.

At first, it seems that Lydia wants revenge on Alexis alone. But a girl from school disappears one night, and Alexis spots one of Lydia’s signature yellow roses lying on the girl’s dresser the next day. Soon, it becomes clear that several of Alexis’s friends are in danger, and that she’s the only person who can save them. But as she tries to intervene, Alexis realizes that her enemy is a much more powerful ghost than she’s ever faced before… and that its fate is tied to hers in ways she couldn’t possibly imagine.

Not even in her worst nightmares.

RAILSEA – China Mieville

On board the moletrain Medes, Sham Yes ap Soorap watches in awe as he witnesses his first moldywarpe hunt: the giant mole bursting from the earth, the harpoonists targeting their prey, the battle resulting in one’s death and the other’s glory. But no matter how spectacular it is, Sham can’t shake the sense that there is more to life than traveling the endless rails of the railsea–even if his captain can think only of the hunt for the ivory-coloured mole she’s been chasing since it took her arm all those years ago. When they come across a wrecked train, at first it’s a welcome distraction. But what Sham finds in the derelict—a series of pictures hinting at something, somewhere, that should be impossible—leads to considerably more than he’d bargained for. Soon he’s hunted on all sides, by pirates, trainsfolk, monsters and salvage-scrabblers. And it might not be just Sham’s life that’s about to change. It could be the whole of the railsea.

A CONFUSION OF PRINCES – Garth Nix

I procrastinate. There, I said it. If I had to make a list of all the things on which I procrastinate….well, you know, I will probably get around to doing that some day.

A little procrastination is a good thing, as far as I’m concerned. If you can put off a task until you are mentally (or physically, or emotionally) prepared for it, I think the results of doing the project might be more enjoyable.

And hey, when you’re procrastinating, you are usually doing something you enjoy, right? For example, instead of working, studying, writing, you might procrastinate by checking Facebook, or Twitter, or texting friends.

But what’s interesting is when it comes to writing, it pretty much doesn’t matter if I’m “in the groove” and loving every syllable falling off my fingers, or if I’m hating every stupid letter of every stupid word because “by all that’s holy this is the worst drek I’ve ever written.” Nine and a half times out of ten, the results of the actual written work is the same, whether or not I was having a great time, or grumbling my way through a day’s worth of paragraphs.

There is some kind of magical disconnect between the writer and the writing, so that a writer’s willingness to be in the chair writing (or their mood) doesn’t transfer to the results on the page. This is good for many reasons as I’ve written many happy, funny, exciting things while I was very stressed, sad, sick, angry, hopeless, and burned out. The mood I’m in doesn’t dictate how “good” my writing is.

So there really isn’t any need to procrastinate until “I’m in the mood” or “my muse is calling.” Words is words is words, baby.

However, during those sessions when I’m feeling like everything I write is drek, procrastination is particularly tempting. “Everything I’m doing right now sucks, anyway. Maybe a cat video will take my mind off things and make me happy.”

Catch that? “Make me happy.” That’s the promise of procrastination. If you procrastinate, you can do a thing that will be a lot more fun than what you “should” be doing.

So how does a writer turn away from that lure of procrastination? How does a writer manage not to get “distracted” by the shiny, shiny internet-email-everything-else-in-life and get the work done?

I can’t speak for all writers, but here’s what I do. I sit back, take my hands off the keyboard, look away from the screen and ask myself this: “What will *really* make me happy? When I look back on this day, what am I really going to be glad I did?”

Every single time, my answer is: “Write.” And then I close the shiny, open the word file, and I get on with doing just that.  After all, I can always get around to procrastinating later.

[Editing my original post, which mistakenly said that BLACK DAWN was the last of the Morganville books. I've never been so happy to be wrong! -- Jackie]

I’m so thrilled about the latest installment in the Morganville Vampires. I love Claire, Shane, Eve and Michael. I adore Oliver, even though (or because) he’s an evil bastard. And Amelie — can’t wait to see what happens to her. And then there’s Myrnin, one of the best characters EVER (especially when he’s wearing his vampiric bunny slippers).

Black Dawn

BLACK DAWN (Morganville Vampires series) by Rachel Caine

With its eclectic mix of vampire and human citizens, Morganville, Texas, has always been a risky place to call home. But with the invasion of the vampire’s deadliest enemy, Morganville isn’t just in danger—it’s dying…

Ever since the draug—mysterious creatures that prey on vampires—took over Morganville, the lives of student Claire Danvers and her friends have been thrown into turmoil. Most of the town’s residents have evacuated, but Claire, Shane, Eve and Michael have chosen to stay and fight.Using the city’s water system to spread, the draug have rapidly multiplied. Things in Morganville look grim, especially since vampire Amelie—the town founder—has been infected by the master draug’s bite. 

Now, if Claire and her friends don’t figure out how to cure Amelie and defeat the draug, it looks like Morganville will become little more than a ghost town…

Silver James is a longtime Deadline Dames reader and commenter — and we’re so thrilled about Silver’s new release! Werewolves! Covert ops! And hot sex! Check out this tagline: “Warning: Pursue an alpha Wolf at your own risk. Hot sex, bad words, and action of the blood and guts kind will ensue.” Woof!!! This e-book is going to be great!

Blood Moon

BLOOD MOON (Moonstruck series) by Silver James

Army Major Hannah Jackson knows where the skeletons are hidden at the Pentagon and now she’s been tasked with keeping the secrets of Army Special Sci Ops Unit 69—the Wolves—and their secret is a doozy. That a civilian corporation wants to exploit the Wolves is a matter of pressing concern.

Sergeant Major Ian McIntire doesn’t trust Hannah as far as he can throw her—and that’s quite a ways considering he’s an alpha werewolf. The woman is a pain in his butt and with the Blood Moon coming, the unit needs to complete their mission and get home before tempers flare. While she might know most of their secrets, the one she doesn’t know about the moonstruck Wolf might just get them all killed.

When a covert operation goes wrong, Mac must trust Hannah to save his men—and his heart. Secrets, lies, and betrayals are more personal under the full moon, but when a Wolf loves a woman, he’ll do whatever it takes to keep her safe.

I’ve been a longtime Sookie Stackhouse fan, way before HBO came out with True Blood. This is the penultimate book in the Southern Vampires series, and while I’ll be sad to see Sookie, Eric, and everyone in Bon Temps go, I’m also looking forward to resolving the storylines and seeing how my favorite blond, telepathic, quarter-fairy barmaid winds up. And Charlaine Harris is one of the nicest people I’ve ever met.

Deadlocked

DEADLOCKED (Sookie Stackhouse series) by Charlaine Harris

It’s vampire politics as usual around the town of Bon Temps, but never before have they hit so close to Sookie’s heart…. Growing up with telepathic abilities, Sookie Stackhouse realized early on that there are things she’d rather not know. And now that she’s an adult, she also realizes that some things she knows about, she’d rather not see — like Eric Northman feeding off another woman. A younger one. There’s a thing or two she’d like to say about that, but she has to keep quiet — Felipe de Castro, the vampire King of Louisiana (and Arkansas and Nevada), is in town. It’s the worst possible time for a human body to show up in Eric’s front yard — especially the body of the woman whose blood he just drank. Now it’s up to Sookie and Bill, the official Area Five investigator, to solve the murder. Sookie thinks that, at least this time, the dead girl’s fate has nothing to do with her. But she is wrong. She has an enemy, one far more devious than she would ever suspect, who’s set out to make Sookie’s world comecrashing down…

Super excited about this next book! Alethea is a fabulous person — and I covet her tiara — as well as a marvelous author. My kids adored ALPHA-OOPS (THE DAY THAT Z WENT FIRST), and so did I! I can’t wait to read this new YA novel from my fellow Harcourt author!

Enchanted

ENCHANTED by Alethea Kontis

It isn’t easy being the rather overlooked and unhappy youngest sibling to sisters named for the other six days of the week. Sunday’s only comfort is writing stories, although what she writes has a terrible tendency to come true. When Sunday meets an enchanted frog who asks about her stories, the two become friends. Soon that friendship deepens into something magical. One night Sunday kisses her frog goodbye and leaves, not realizing that her love has transformed him back into Rumbold, the crown prince of Arilland — and a man Sunday’s family despises. The prince returns to his castle, intent on making Sunday fall in love with him as the man he is, not the frog he was. But Sunday is not so easy to woo. How can she feel such a strange, strong attraction for this prince she barely knows? And what twisted secrets lie hidden in his past — and hers?

I’ve loved Justin’s work ever since I read his first series, starting with BLACK MAGIC WOMAN. Justin was also the editor of the Those Who Fight Monsters anthology (which included a Hell short story), and he was terrific to work with. If you love supernatural crime procedurals, definitely read Justin’s books.

Evil Dark

EVIL DARK (Occult Crime Unit Investigation series) by Justin Gustainis

My name’s Markowski. I carry a badge. Also a crucifix, some wooden stakes, big vial of holy water and a 9mm Beretta loaded with silver bullets.

A series of seemingly motiveless murders of supernatural creatures points to a vigilante targeting the supe community of Scranton. Markowski wouldn’t normally have much of a problem with that, but his daughter may be next on the killer’s list… 

Jeri is a fabulous author and an amazing person (and she knows more about music than I ever will on my best day). I fell in love with Aura when she first appeared in SHADE, and then I continued to love her in SHIFT. And now, here we are at the end of the trilogy. Can’t wait to see how this turns out!

Shine

SHINE (Shade trilogy) by Jeri Smith-Ready

In this dramatic conclusion to the Shade trilogy, Aura and Zachary’s relationship sizzles as the secrets of the Shift are revealed.

Life can change in an instant, and no one understands that better than Aura. It’s been almost a year since her boyfriend tragically died. She’s finally letting go of Logan’s violet-hued ghost, but not her search to uncover the truth about her past. As the first in a generation that can see ghosts, Aura is convinced she has a connection to the Shift. She’s trusted Zachary, ever patient and ever by her side, with all that she knows. But when the government threatens his life in an attempt to learn Aura’s secrets, she will stop at nothing to protect herself and the one she loves…even if that means betraying her own heart.

The first time I saw Kevin’s covers for the Iron Druid Chronicles, I knew I was going to like the books. Seriously nice covers. And they don’t hold a candle to the phenomenal stories within. Atticus is so freaking cool. I adore him. And I’d love to have a beer with him. I’d even bring sausages for Oberon, one of the best animal companions I’ve ever read in an urban fantasy. And congrats to Kevin for hitting the NYT list!

Tricked

TRICKED (Iron Druid Chronicles) by Kevin Hearne

Druid Atticus O’Sullivan hasn’t stayed alive for more than two millennia without a fair bit of Celtic cunning. So when vengeful thunder gods come Norse by Southwest looking for payback, Atticus, with a little help from the Navajo trickster god Coyote, lets them think that they’ve chopped up his body in the Arizona desert. But the mischievous Coyote is not above a little sleight of paw, and Atticus soon finds that he’s been duped into battling bloodthirsty desert shapeshifters called skinwalkers. Just when the Druid thinks he’s got a handle on all the duplicity, betrayal comes from an unlikely source. If Atticus survives this time, he vows he won’t be fooled again.

Famous last words.

Dude — how did I not know about this???

The Wind Through The Keyhole

THE WIND THROUGH THE KEYHOLE (Dark Tower series #4.5) by Stephen King

In “The Wind Through the Keyhole,” Stephen King returns to the rich landscape of Mid-World, the spectacular territory of the Dark Tower fantasy saga that stands as his most beguiling achievement. Roland Deschain and his ka-tet — Jake, Susannah, Eddie, and Oy, the billy-bumbler — encounter a ferocious storm just after crossing the River Whye on their way to the Outer Baronies. As they shelter from the howling gale, Roland tells his friends not just one strange story but two . . . and in so doing, casts new light on his own troubled past. In his early days as a gunslinger, in the guilt-ridden year following his mother’s death, Roland is sent by his father to investigate evidence of a murderous shape-shifter, a “skin-man” preying upon the population around Debaria. Roland takes charge of Bill Streeter, the brave but terrified boy who is the sole surviving witness to the beast’s most recent slaughter. Only a teenager himself, Roland calms the boy and prepares him for the following day’s trials by reciting a story from the “Magic Tales of the Eld “that his mother often read to him at bedtime. “A person’s never too old for stories,” Roland says to Bill. “Man and boy, girl and woman, never too old. We live for them.” And indeed, the tale that Roland unfolds, the legend of Tim Stoutheart, is a timeless treasure for all ages, a story that lives for us. King began the Dark Tower series in 1974; it gained momentum in the 1980s; and he brought it to a thrilling conclusion when the last three novels were published in 2003 and 2004. “The Wind Through the Keyhole “is sure to fascinate avid fans of the Dark Tower epic. But this novel also stands on its own for all readers, an enchanting and haunting journey to Roland’s world and testimony to the power of Stephen King’s storytelling magic.

What books are you looking forward to?

Dame Kaz

Please note: This is mostly non-spoilery. Probably very minor spoilers for Book Two (The Wood Queen), but only in terms of character names that you won’t yet be familiar with.

* * *

Donna stepped into the ballroom and immediately forgot how much her shoes pinched her toes. She thought this must have been how Alice felt when she first set eyes on Wonderland.

The air was thick with a cloying sweetness that almost made her choke. The ceiling swept far above her head, much of its wide expanse lost in shadows cast by flickering candles and chandeliers that seemed to float suspended in the air. The room seemed endless, in all directions, as though she could get lost if she wasn’t careful.

There were floor-to-ceiling ivory pillars lining each wall. The floor was decorated with a mosaic in every shade of red that Donna could think of—and a few she’d never seen before. It looked as though someone had spilled blood across the entire space and then frozen it in place. The parts of the ceiling that were visible were midnight blue and studded with tiny stars.

It was stunning and creepy, and just a little overwhelming.

The room was full of revellers such that she had never even imagined. Donna had seen strange. She’d seen magical. But this… this was something else. Alien, twisted, and yet beautiful in spite of its strangeness. Perhaps even because of it. It was like walking into a storybook, where monsters really did exist and if you looked hard enough you might find a beanstalk or two.

As that thought crossed her mind, Donna felt her gaze drawn to what looked like tree roots climbing the walls, spreading across the domed ceiling, and swallowed. She hoped there weren’t any giants around.

Some of the people that filled the room danced, whirling and spinning on the crowded floor. Others stood at the edges of the ballroom, masked faces close together as they shared secrets and laughed behind their hands. It was impossible to recognize anybody because of the masquerade. That was the point of it: mystery. Magic.

The only faces that Donna could see were those of wolves and goblins; bears and eagles; stags and foxes and dragons. Many of the masks depicted things that Donna had never even seen before, and she wasn’t sure they actually existed—perhaps only in her nightmares. Some of them were so bizarre, she hoped that she never saw them again whether waking or sleeping.

She cautiously walked in the direction of a raised dais, waving away the servers dressed all in black, remembering Miranda’s warning. The smell of sweet pastries and sticky-red wine was intoxicating, and she wished she could taste something, but the thought of being enchanted by faery magic or by demon curses was enough to squash the visceral urge. Donna knew that this kind of hunger wasn’t real; it was a hunger for oblivion rather than sustenance.

Demian sat on a throne carved from silver bones threaded with black roses. He wore a white suit that made him look monochromatic, apart from his onyx eyes and the single black rose in the lapel of his jacket. He was attended by beings that could have been demons or faeries or even humans glamoured to within an inch of their lives. It was difficult to tell, what with everyone wearing such ornately carved masks.

The Demon King was the only person in the room not wearing one. His face looked carved from marble anyway, so it wasn’t like he needed to, Donna thought.

His eyes rested on her and she saw the corner of his thin mouth flicker. He turned away and said something to a tall man standing beside him. The man nodded behind his goat-mask and slid from the dais with inhuman speed, disappearing through a doorway that appeared out of nowhere.

“May I have this dance?” a low voice said in her ear.

It’s enough to make a Rex Velvet out of anyone.

Often, people will think writing is a glamorous or lazy job. Sometimes I wish they could see me in my Jedi bathrobe, unwashed and hacking up a lung, Kleenex scattered through the living room and my bloodshot eyes burning with hellfire as I try to crunch through work to meet a deadline. (Or, you know, think up a subject for a blog post while my brain is line-edited sludge and my immune system is desperately imitating the Charge of the Light Brigade.) There are nice things about my morning commute being a shamble to the living room, sure–but I also don’t get to walk away from my work. It follows me, peeking out of cracks and corners, even when I’m staggering down the hall for bed after turning in a 12-hour day of line edits. This shit is not for the faint of heart or stomach.

Which is a somewhat roundabout way of saying I’m digging deep into my cortex for a Three Things post. Here are three things nobody told me about working from home:

1. Solitude is your friend. Until it’s not. I need large chunks of alone time. I can function without them, but it’s not pretty. But even I sometimes go grocery shopping just so I can see the checkout lady and remind myself I’m human. (The kids can rarely help me with that one, because I’ve raised them–they don’t have much of a basis for comparison. They tend to think I’m normal, poor things. Their therapy bills are gonna be HUGE. Anyway.) Paradoxically, my job involves a great deal of observing people so I can build characters effectively, and further requires that I interact with fans, editors, editorial assistants, Production and Marketing staff, and fellow authors (just to mention a few) without sounding like a troglodyte or a crackhead squirrel-feeding mouthbreather.

Which I manage with varying degrees of success, all told, but those interpersonal skills do tend to rust when you spend long hours moving around the people inside your head and making the words sit straight on the page. Exercising them enough to not (overly) embarrass yourself (much) in public is just another thing to add to the ever-growing to-do list.

2. Still gotta get dressed. Mostly. To call the dress code here at Office Saintcrow “relaxed” is, well, an understatement. I joke about work not requiring the wearing of pants, but really, getting the pattern of your office chair’s upholstery tattooed on your nethers isn’t a good time. (Don’t ask.) And when I have correspondence to deal with, I’ve found it goes a lot better if I’m showered and at least reasonably attired. It’s like the old advice about standing up and smiling when you’re on an important phone call–it makes you sound brighter and better. Sometimes I’ll dress up to write a particular scene, and there was one book (I am not going to say which one) that I had to go through the copyedits while wearing heels and eyeliner just to remind myself that I was a professional, dammit, and I was not going to start throwing things.

3. Save somewhere, spend somewhere else. So I don’t have the associated costs of a morning commute–petrol, wear and tear on the car, wear and tear on the nerves–but my caffeine habit consumes the GNP of a small island nation. Not to mention my book habit, because getting them delivered is easy, right? What I save on postage costs through email I spend on high-speed Internet and various apps and software. Sometimes working at home is cheaper, sometimes it’s not. I finally broke down and got an accountant to do my taxes, since she knew how to compute home-office stuff, and frankly she saves me from needing a boatload of Xanax and ulcer medication every April. See? It’s like trying to fit eight pounds of Silly Putty into a five-pound burlap sack–no matter how you smash it, something’s going to bulge out somewhere.

…that was probably not my best simile, but what the hell. The cold medication is kicking in, the line edits were slaughtered early this morning and will be sent off on time tomorrow, both dog and cat are snoring in their respective corners, and I may be able to steal a half-hour’s worth of rest before some damn thing else lands in my inbox.

Still, I’m not bitching. This wordmonkey gig is a pretty sweet deal.

Even if you do (really, trust me on this) have to wear pants.

(Most of the time.)

Sometimes the pressure of deadlines and expectations –both your own and those of your editors and readers– become so overwhelming that if you want to survive you simply have do something drastic. I did that this weekend. I ran away.

And you know what? I’m going to do it more often.

While unpublished authors undoubtedly feel the pressure –whether from within or without– to get published, I think it’s a whole lot worse for those of us who are already there. Just because we did it once or twice or even half a dozen times, it doesn’t mean it’s any easier, or that there’s any less pressure. Quite often it’s the opposite, simply because we’re now dealing with not only our own expectations, but those of our editors and readers. And on top of all that, there’s the expectations of the sales and marketing people to deal with. Every published writer these days is hideously aware of the need to keep growing their audience, because stagnant sales numbers can often mean less being offered at the table come contract negotiation time. Or, worse still, nothing being offered at all.

Combine all that with everything else a writer is supposed to do these days –not only juggling deadlines and edits, but twitter, facebook, blogs, and advertising– while actually trying to have a life, and is it any wonder that stress can be a major problem for many of us?

It has been for me. Hell, I ended up in hospital a few years ago with blood pressure so high the doctors were all amazed I was still alive.

Of course, I happened to be working full time as a chef as well as trying to write a contracted novel and turn around edits in record time, so it wasn’t really a surprise I ended up in hospital. It took nine days for me to be released, and the first thing I did was quit my job as a chef. Becoming a full time writer definitely made things easier, but there’s still been weeks –months, even– when it all seems to be closing in on me and I just can’t see a light at the end of the tunnel.

Which is why I ran away last weekend. I spent three whole days at a beautiful beach house without email, and very little in the way of twitter or facebook posts. It was just me and my critique group sitting around drinking, chatting, eating far too much, and generally having a good time. The end result was not only inner batteries being recharged, but storylines becoming clearer in my head.

I think we sometimes get so caught up in the drive to succeed that we forget that the storyteller within us needs to be looked after and fed just as much as our flesh does.  I found a quote online from Julia Cameron, author of The Artists Way and The Sound of Paper; Starting from scratch, that sums it up perfectly: In order to make art, we must first make an artful life, a life rich enough and diverse enough to give us fuel.

If all we do is sit at a computer screen and meet deadlines, or do blogs, or update twitter and facebook, how is that feeding our inner storytellers? It can’t be all deadlines and edits and advertising. We’re writers. We make up stories from things we see and do–but the well is not endless. It needs replenishing.

So, no matter how bad the pressure, take a time out. Run away, be it for an hour or a whole weekend. Do something different, even if it’s as simple as going out for a coffee and relaxing. You may feel guilty, and you may feel like you’re doing nothing, but you are. You’re recharging.

Paige Vest, who said: “Yay! for release day!! Congrats! I’d love to have Dark Descendant if I were to win! Actually, I’d love them both but I’ll not be a greedy girl.) But I am in the U.S. and would love either book signed! Thanks for the giveaway and happyhappyhappy release day!”

AND

Lingeorge, who said: “Congratulations on release day! I have been so looking forward to this book — going onto my nook right now!”

AND

carol shenold, who said: “Happy release day. It’s getting dangerous for me to look at new releases because I always want to read them. Do you know how big my TBR pile is now???”

Congratulations! Please email Dame Jenna at jennablackbooks AHT aol DAHT CALM and be sure to include your mailing address and which book you would prefer: DARK DESCENDANT or DEADLY DESCENDANT.

~

So I’m sure that you’ve heard writers confidently tell one another never to throw any writing away, whether you’re murdering your darlings or trunking a novel. “You could always reuse it,” we say knowingly. Taking entire scenes, chapters, characters, dialogue, even plots from our unsold works and retooling them for a current WIP is very doable. The original version of the bulimia/bathroom scene from my book HUNGER was in an unpublished short story I wrote back in college called “Instead of Fried Chicken,” which never made it past my creative writing workshop. The original version of a fight scene in my book THE ROAD TO HELL was from the second novel I ever wrote (also unpublished) called HEY CHARLES, YOUR SLIP IS SHOWING.We absolutely should reuse our unpublished material; otherwise, it’s just collecting dust.

But there’s another thing we should do every once in a while: brush off the dust of our trunked novels and give them a clean read.

That may sound like a waste of time. But think about it: you’re a stronger writer now than you were all those years ago when you wrote that first book (or books). Your editorial eye is sharper. Reading old material with fresh eyes, after a long time away from the work, may confirm that yes, the book was trunked for a reason. Or you may decide that with a thorough revision, you could have a strong novel.

You may even realize that you’ve been sitting on a novel that’s ready right now to go make the rounds.

Sound nuts? It’s not. Another pearl that writers share is that the market is cyclical, so even if the book you loved didn’t have a market when you were ready to put it on submission, there’s a strong likelihood that after a few years, the market will return to it.

So if you find yourself between projects, take out one of your old manuscript and dust it off, grab some chocolate, and sit back to read your work.

You may be surprised by what you find.

As a living descendant of Artemis the Huntress, private investigator Nikki Glass knows how to track someone down. But when an Oracle shows up, warning the descendants about wild dog attacks in Washington D.C., Nikki is afraid it might be a trap. The Olympians believe the “dogs” are jackals, controlled by a blood-crazed descendant of the Egyptian death-god Anubis. Whatever. . . . If Nikki hopes to muzzle Dogboy, she’s got to catch him in the act. But when she stakes out a local cemetery, she ends up face-to-snout with a snarling pack of shadow-jackals whose bite is worse than their bark. These hellhounds are deadly—even for an immortal like Nikki. “Dog” spelled backwards may be “god,” but that won’t stop Nikki from teaching these old gods some new tricks. Like playing dead.

I’ve loved mythology (particularly Greek/Roman mythology) ever since I read Edith Hamilton’s Mythology in (if I remember correctly) eighth grade. The writing is rather dense and old-fashioned (it was originally published in 1940), but it’s still my go-to source for Greek and Roman myth. (I also have and use Bullfinch’s Mythology, but that one doesn’t have as special a place in my heart.) Of course, just as I’ve used loose interpretations of vampire, demon, and faerie lore for my Guardians of the Night, Morgan Kingsley, and Faeriewalker series,  I’ve played around with the mythology in my Descendant series. I guess I’ve never been a big fan of coloring within the lines, and I love taking the lore and myths behind my characters and using them as a jumping off point rather than a road map.

So yes, in the mythology, Artemis is usually referred to as a virgin goddess. Obviously, in that case, she couldn’t have any descendants, and therefore Nikki in her current form couldn’t exist. But every myth out there has about twelve thousand variations, and in a world where those myths are supposed to be based on reality, it seemed reasonable to add my own variations. So in my version of mythology, Artemis wasn’t literally a virgin, and therefore she can have one (or more) descendants alive in the world today.

This may ruffle the feathers of a few mythology purists, but hey, it’s my world, and if I want to play with the myths, I will. I like giving my imagination as much freedom as possible, and writing strictly within the confines of the existing mythology just wouldn’t be as much fun for me. And let’s face it, being a full-time writer is filled with stress and frustrations, and the business side especially sometimes seems to be doing its best to break us. If we don’t love what we’re writing (at least most of the time), if we’re not having fun with it, then there’s no point in putting up with the Mr. Hyde side of this career.

Now, on to the giveaway. This will be a quickie (in part because I’m so scattered on release week that I can’t trust myself to remember things for more than a day), and I’ll be picking the winners around noon EDT tomorrow (April 25). I’ll give away three copies of Deadly Descendant (or of Dark Descendant, if you prefer). The contest is open internationally, but if you’re not in the U.S., I’ll be sending your book via the Book Depository, so it won’t be signed. To enter, just leave a comment before noon EDT on April 25. Good luck!

Last week I had the pleasure of speaking to two high school writing classes about the writerly life. Public speaking makes me very nervous. Even standing up in front of a crowd to read a bit of my newest book gives me a serious case of the sweaty-palm jitters.

Being an introvert (as many writers are) means that actively pursuing a life of public speaking isn’t something on my top-ten things to do list.  And yet, I had been asked to talk to the class about my life as a writer. These young men and women, I was told, were all seeking creative careers themselves and were looking for others who were walking a creative path.

I’ve spoken to exactly two high school classes before. I did not do a very good job either time. So this time I approached my talk differently.

I spent a day (yes, during tight deadlines) and made a list of things I *could* talk about. It was a long list. I thought about my audience and what kind of information they would be interested in. Since I was talking to a high school class, I assumed they weren’t as keen on things like the ins and outs of copyright, foreign markets, or the changes ebooks have brought about in publishing over the last couple years.

I winnowed my list down to some interesting points and experiences and practiced talking about them with a timer going.

I asked other writers if they had any hints for giving a good talk and got some terrific advice, such as bringing something visual, sharing mistakes, and trying to have some fun with it. (Thank you, Dames!)

Since the students were interested in exploring a creative career, I focused on that. I stressed that creative people never follow the same path because creative people must create their path and their career. No one hands you your career on a silver platter, you create it through doing the work, making choices, facing fears and risking rejection and acceptance.

It was a pretty good talk. Probably the best I’ve done in front of a class. The students had great questions, which helped me a lot. But my favorite part was when I was asked how long it took for me to publish my first novel.

As my husband recently said, “there’s always a little Barnum in a good presentation.” I don’t have a lot of Barnum in my life, so I brought along some things that are probably the most physical representation of my career path: all of my currently published novels (nine, plus a short story collection) and my pile of rejection letters.

I did not bring every rejection I have ever received. I did not bring all the email rejections I have received. Even so, that stack of “no” weighs in at six pounds. Pulling that messy pile out of the bag and then reading three of the harshest rejections I’ve ever received (which were all from the same magazine and spaced out over three years) did two things:

1. It made me realize I can read my failures, that were at the time of receiving them really and truly hurtful, out loud in front of a crowd and get a laugh (and laugh right along with them!)

2. It made me realize that any one of the rejections in that pile could have stopped me from believing I could be a full time writer.

And not one of them did.

Because a creative career means always finding a new way to build your path forward.

Thank you, students, for reminding me that it’s perfectly fine and logical and maybe even healthy for a creative person to give up. Just as long as they begin again.

I wanted to pick you all! Some of the comments cracked me up. But the random number generator chose these two winners for my Kithra and Replicant giveaway. Congratulations! Email me at rindaelliott(at)gmail(dot)com with your email addresses and choice of e-version. Kindle, Nook, PDF and Sony.

• Stephanie Collins:

I would love to be picked!!

• Kristina L.:

Scifi and romance *swoon* I do believe that scifi was my first love, before I wandered away to fantasy and ended up in urban fantasy. Congrats on the new release, Rinda!

And the winner for our Dame for a Day giveaway is

Brenda Hyde:

Thanks for your post and the contest:)

Congrats Brenda! Email Dame Kaz at writerkaz (AT) gmail (DOT) com for your signed copy of Suzanne Johnson’s book.