Copy edits done & Release Day Mayhem!

Well, yesterday afternoon I sent off one very dog-eared and marked-up hard copy of Double Cross to Random House. Woo hoo! As a treat, and this is how pathetic and workaholic I am, I had been planning on playing my favorite computer game I never have time to play, Super What Word! but instead, I spent like two hours trying to fix my broken email program, which eventually involved paying Apple $50 for help desk services. Then, my celebration continued with my husband and me ordering a pizza and watching an episode of my favorite new show, Breaking Bad. Yeah!

While I had my nose the the keyboard, all hell broke loose! Look at all these releases!!

Unholy Ghosts by Stacia Kane. I’m into the anti-heroine in a big way, so of course I’m super psyched for the fabulously controversial Unholy Ghosts by Stacia Kane! I absolutely love the idea of an urban fantasy heroine wrestling a dangerous addiction in addition to paranormal baddies. It's this kind of risk-taking that makes urban fantasy the vibrant, healthy genre it is.

blurb: The world is not the way it was. The dead have risen, and the living are under attack. The powerful Church of Real Truth, in charge since the government fell, has sworn to reimburse citizens being harassed by the deceased. Enter Chess Putnam, a fully tattooed witch and freewheeling ghost hunter. She’s got a real talent for banishing the wicked dead. But Chess is keeping a dark secret: She owes a lot of money to a murderous drug lord named Bump, who wants immediate payback in the form of a dangerous job that involves black magic, human sacrifice, a nefarious demonic creature, and enough wicked energy to wipe out a city of souls. Toss in lust for a rival gang leader and a dangerous attraction to Bump’s ruthless enforcer, and Chess begins to wonder if the rush is really worth it. Hell, yeah.

Cheat the Grave by Vicki Pettersson. So many of my friends clutch these Zodiac books to their readerly hearts professing their undying love, and now that I've begun this awesome series, I totally get why! WTF was I waiting for? Because it's awesome!

I’m feeling super confident about my glom, too, because people freak out more over every installment, and this just-released #5 is apparently cranking things in a total OMG direction.

“WOW. Cheat the Grave was by far my favorite in the Signs of the Zodiac series by far! City of Souls was awesome, but Cheat the Grave goes far beyond that!” ~Jessica of A Great Read.

Las Vegas socialite and otherwordly avenger Joanna Archer gave up everything when she embraced mortality—abandoning her powers and altering her destiny to save a child . . . and a city. Now her former allies are her enemies—and her enemies have nothing to fear. Yet still she is bound to a prophecy that condemns her to roam a nightmare landscape that ordinary humans cannot see and dare not enter. And a beast is on her trail—an insane killer blinded by bloodlust, who's determined to rip much more from Joanna than merely her now-fragile life. Survival is no longer an option in this dark realm where good and evil have blurred into confusing shades of gray—unless she can gather together an army of onetime foes and destroy everything she once believed in.
Psst: right now, the first book of the series, Scent of Shadows, is a free download. More about that here.

His at Night by Sherry Thomas. I snagged an advanced copy of this baby at RT and ate it up and loved loved loved it! This thing is delicious, delightful fun, start to finish. Full write-up later, but for now, grab it!

Elissande Edgerton is a desperate woman, a virtual prisoner in the home of her tyrannical uncle. Only through marriage can she claim the freedom she craves. But how to catch the perfect man?

Lord Vere is used to baiting irresistible traps. As a secret agent for the government, he’s tracked down some of the most devious criminals in London, all the while maintaining his cover as one of Society’s most harmless—and idiotic—bachelors. But nothing can prepare him for the scandal of being ensnared by Elissande.



Forced into a marriage of convenience, Elissande and Vere are each about to discover that they’re not the only one with a hidden agenda. With seduction their only weapon—and a dark secret from the past endangering both their lives—can they learn to trust each other even as they surrender to a passion that won’t be denied?

Moon Sworn by Keri Arthur. Another awesome series and a Crane fave is the Riley Jensen series - dark, sexy, yummy, and thrilling. My pal and hugely discriminating UF and PNR conneisseur Nicola, who is a book ahead of me in it, calls this one her “MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK in more than a year.” Check out her letter to Arthur.

This is the last book about Riley Jenson, paranormal crime investigator who is part-werewolf and part vampire. Will Riley’s dreams come true? Keri? Please??!!

blurb: Shape-shifting werewolf and vampire Riley Jenson is through with death—causing it, solving it, surviving it. Her soul mate, Kye Murphy, is dead—and at Riley’s own hands. Not even the seductive embrace of her vampire lover, Quinn, can fully ease her mind, for she has begun questioning everything that makes her Riley—including her job at the Directorate.



Now, the ritualistically slain bodies of ex-cons have started turning up. Reluctantly, Riley takes the case, but something even worse is waiting in the wings. A vicious enemy from her past is determined to strip Riley of everything that gives her life any meaning: her lover, her brother—and even her own identity. Can Riley survive this ultimate assault? All she knows is, she must fight one last time to find answers, before everything goes dark forever.

Demon Princess: Reign Check by Michelle Rowen. The second book in the fabulous Demon Princess series came out, too! Watch out, fairy king!

“Sassy and smart, engrossing and exhilarating! Rowen’s tale of forbidden love and staying true to one’s self (even if you have horns) will have readers screaming for more.”
—Heather Brewer, author of The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod

Blurb: Enter the world of Nikki Donovan, a demon princess hell-bent on living a normal teenage life! Nikki Donovan has had a lot to deal with since learning she was half human, half demon. But things take a darker turn when Rhys, a gorgeous — but potentially dangerous — faery king enrolls at her high school to investigate Nikki’s potential for fulfilling an apocalyptic prophesy. Nikki knows she’d never turn violent, and she certainly couldn’t destroy the world…could she?

Of course, all Nikki really wants is to be reunited with Michael, a Shadow creature whose status as her personal servant is further complicated by their undeniable attraction to each other. Even though the rules of the Shadowlands strictly forbid their romance, Nikki is determined not to let Michael go. But when she is summoned to the Underworld to appear before a demon council, it will take all her courage — and perhaps a bit of demon-level strength — to get herself out again.

A Bad Day For Sorry by Sophie Littlefield. Can I love this title any more? How about the plot? A small town woman/sewing shop owner who metes out justice on behalf of battered women. And then a mystery catches her up. I met Sophie at RT, and she is friendly and smart, and wow, I am so excited to read her award winning debut. For sure a name to watch!

Stella Hardesty dispatched her abusive husband with a wrench shortly before her fiftieth birthday. A few years later, she’s so busy delivering home-style justice on her days off, helping other women deal with their own abusive husbands and boyfriends, that she barely has time to run her sewing shop in her rural Missouri hometown. Some men need more convincing than others, but it’s usually nothing a little light bondage or old-fashioned whuppin' can’t fix.

Since Stella works outside of the law, she’s free to do whatever it takes to get the job done---as long as she keeps her distance from the handsome devil of a local sheriff, Goat Jones. When young mother Chrissy Shaw asks Stella for help with her no-good husband, Roy Dean, it looks like an easy case. Until Roy Dean disappears with Chrissy’s two-year-old son, Tucker. Stella quickly learns that Roy Dean was involved with some very scary men, as she tries to sort out who’s hiding information and who’s merely trying to kill her. It’s going to take a hell of a fight to get the little boy back home to his mama, but if anyone can do it, it’s Stella Hardesty.

Author Sophie Littlefield possesses all the verve and confidence of a seasoned pro. This debut novel rings true at every heart-stopping turn, utterly bewitching us with its gutsy, compassionate voice and boasting some of the most captivating, complex characters in crime fiction today.

Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead was actually released last week, and it shot up to #1 on the USA Today Bestseller chart. Yay! This book is #5 in the famed and fabulous Vampire Academy series. Richelle Rocks!

Blurb: After a long and heartbreaking journey to Dimitri's birthplace in Siberia, Rose Hathaway has finally returned to St. Vladimir's—and to her best friend, Lissa. It is nearly graduation, and the girls can't wait for their real lives beyond the Academy's iron gates to begin.

But Rose's heart still aches for Dimitri, and she knows he's out there, somewhere. She failed to kill him when she had the chance. And now her worst fears are about to come true. Dimitri has tasted her blood, and now he is hunting her. And this time he won't rest until Rose joins him . . . forever.