The THRILLIONTH page

Monday, August 29, 2011

New releases && etc

There are quite a few amazing releases this Tuesday. A few I'm looking forward to:

Crossroads by Jeanne C. Stein (Anna Strong #7)
Oh, Anna! Anna!
Publisher blurb: As a bounty hunter, Anna Strong knew how to find trouble. But now that she's a vampire, trouble seems to have a knack for finding her...

The death of Anna's old vampire mentor is causing ripples in the mortal world. His forensic report has brought up some anomalies and people are asking questions-questions that no vampire wants to answer. Anna needs to lie low, but the sudden discovery of a slew of drained bodies near the Mexican border brings an old flame back into her life and with him, a new challenge. Then, some stunning news from an unexpected source sends Anna and her friend Daniel Frey on a journey that may change both their lives-forever. Get Chapter one here

Aftermath by Anne Aguirre (Sirantha Jax #5)
Sirantha! Noooooo!

Publisher blurb: DEAD HEROES GET MONUMENTS. LIVE ONES GET TRIALS.

Sirantha Jax has the right genes—ones that enable her to “jump” faster-than-light ships through grimspace. But it’s also in her genetic makeup to go it alone. It’s a character trait that has gotten her into—and out of—hot water time and time again, but now she’s caused one of the most horrific events in military history…

During the war against murderous, flesh-eating aliens, Sirantha went AWOL and shifted grimspace beacons to keep the enemy from invading humanity’s homeworld. The cost of her actions: the destruction of modern interstellar travel—and the lives of six hundred Conglomerate soldiers.

Accused of dereliction of duty, desertion, mass murder, and high treason, Sirantha is on trial for her life. And only time will tell if she’s one of the Conglomerate’s greatest heroes—or most infamous criminals…

Succubus Revealed by Richelle Mead (Georgina Kincaid #6)

Georgina! Be careful!!!!!

Publisher blurb: Georgina Kincaid has had an eternity to figure out the opposite sex, but sometimes they still surprise her. Take Seth Mortensen. The man has risked his soul to become Georgina's boyfriend. Still, with Lucifer for a boss, Georgina can't just hang up her killer heels and settle down to domestic bliss. In fact, she's being forced to transfer operations. . .to Las Vegas.

The City of Sin is a dream gig for a succubus, but Georgina's allies are suspicious. Why are the powers-that-be so eager to get her away from Seattle—and from Seth? Georgina is one of Hell's most valuable assets, but if there's any way out of the succubus business she plans to take it—no matter how much roadkill she leaves behind. She just hopes the casualties won't include the one man she's risking everything for. . .
Want more release news? Here's a giant release list, courtesy of writer Suzanne Johnson.

Titles Update:
Thanks so very much to everybody who commented and voted on titles. As you see, HEAD RUSH and PSYCH OUT were pretty much tied. Honestly, reading people's thoughtful comments and reactions, it made me feel good about both of those titles. (And thanks for all the kind comments about me naming it anything and you'll read it! xox) I'll let you know when a final decision is made. Which should be soon.

The winner of the gift certificate was one Ms. Jess Macallan. Jess, check your email box!

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Please help me with my decision!

Decision Tree. Perhaps you will make one just like
this to help me with my decision, but I don't expect
or require it!

Are you wondering what the title to the third and final book of the Disillusionists trilogy is? Well you're not alone, my friend. Hellllllllp!

It doesn't matter if you've read the first two books or not; either way, I would be so grateful to get your reactions to these titles. Sometimes all my titles get rejected, but I want to strongly recommend one.

And there's a prize!
One random person who both comments and does the quiz will win a $10 gift certificate to any online store they choose! And, the rest of you will earn my intense gratitude. Wow, this blog is just prize central this week.

Keep in mind the titles of books #1 & 2
Bk #1: MIND GAMES
Bk #2: DOUBLE CROSS
Bk #3: ?

Okay, so for the third and final book, which do you prefer?

Option #1: HEAD RUSH
Pros: Totally goes with the first two titles. Accurate to the book without giving important things away.

Cons: The first two titles are more interactive, they imply relationships and things between people, whereas Head Rush is a solitary affair. Also, may wrongly suggest an emphasis on a hypochondria storyline.

Option #2: PSYCH OUT
Pros: Again, makes a nifty set with the first two titles. Accurate to the book without giving important things away. Kind of fun.

Cons: Is it too fun? Will people think it sounds silly? The series is vaguely humorous, but not certainly not a comedy series.

Option #3: THE ART OF FEAR
Pros: I love it and think it's cool. Highly accurate for the entire series arc.

Cons: Doesn't go with the first two. Series books often have titles that sort of make them into a set. So, powers that be may not go for it. Still...

How to win:
1. Comment and do the quiz. (<--quiz over there in sidebar)
2. Make sure I can get your email addy by clicking on your name, or just leave the addy in your comment.
3. I will pick a winner Monday morning CST when I sit down to my computer to start my day of writing, I will aim to pick this winner at some point after I have my coffee, but before the boy brings me my flask of whiskey, tranquilizers, dirty magazines and opium set-up, and definitely before the dancers arrive, because I am usually too distracted by then.

Images: Not my book cover, by me, and decision tree, by T-kita from Wiki Commons

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

The Renfield Syndrome releases! + quickie contest

Hey! Happy release day to J.A. Saare, for her fabulous The Renfield Syndrome.

Book #2, out today!!!

The Renfield Syndrome (book #2 of Rhiannon's Law Series) is a total urban fantasy feast of unpredictable action and sassy fun, plus an inspired time travel aspect that I just loved. I savored every bite of its hot and twisty deliciousness. I also enjoyed its fun, high-energy, nearly stream-of-consciousness narration.

If you’re on twitter, you’re probably sick of hearing about how awesome the book is. (I wrote a blurb for it. It’s such a joy to blurb a book you feel strongly about! Plus, you get to read it before everyone else and rub your hands and feel smug and snickery.)

The Renfield publisher blurb:

Vampires, and werewolves, and demons, oh my.

Rhiannon thought facing off against a deranged child vampire was the most dangerous task she would ever have to undertake, but she's about to discover making a deal with a demon is far, far worse. Sent forward into another reality, one in which vampires are now dominating nearly extinct humans, she realizes the sooner she returns to her vampire lover, Disco, the better.

Unfortunately, time changes a lot of things, including those most trusted around her. When she's faced with a loss and betrayal unlike any she has ever known, her focus shifts from severing the debt between the demon that wants to kill her, to exacting a revenge that will bring forth consequences she never could have fathomed. By reaching out to the darkness lingering within her, she'll find the strength to push forward despite the circumstances that would see her dead and buried.

After all, when it's all said and done, all that she has left to lose is her soul.

This is book #1, and
you can win it here.

My own blurb, totally honest, too!

"Yow! I loved the new places this book took me, and the inspired twists along the way . . . The Renfield Syndrome roars with fun, danger, and sexy intrigue."

Dead, Undead or Somewhere in Between is book #1.

Wait, what?

You haven’t started the series yet? There is still time to catch up.

Which brings me to my CONTEST! If you’re wishing you’d started the series now that The Renfield Syndrome is out, there’s still time! It’s only book #2! And I’ll help you out.

I’ll give one random commenter book #1, so you can be all caught up and get yourself some Renfield goodness.

An interesting side note: when I was poking around to find an image of the book cover, I went to Barnes & Noble.

The book isn't up yet there, but look at the thing I found - on the lower left hand side, is a little link to something about a real life Renfield Syndrome. I clicked it excitedly. I was like, really? Who would name a syndrome the Renfield Syndrome?

I was like, is there really a Renfield Syndrome?

Yeah, apparently not. As you can see, I rarely click on sponsored links. See below

Uh, I was kind of excited. Don't you hate that? But, cheer up, because there is still my awesome get-caught-up-with-the-series contest!

Rules:

Comment if you want a chance to win Book #1: Dead, Undead or Somewhere in Between.
Make sure I can find your email addy from clicking your name, or just leave it.
International okay!
Contest closes on Friday when I sit down with my morning tea and vittles.

More about The Renfield Syndrome, and ordering links here!

Update: CONTEST CLOSED: Winner is Anna! #8! Congrats, Anna. I'm emailing you.

Monday, August 15, 2011

Back!

Phew! back from the con! It was so much fun. I'm sneaking out of my monday re-entry to post a few pics from the AAD con...

This is me and Lea, from closerwriter, and now, Bookloversinc.com, a lovely and wonderful woman. I've known her forever out and about online, so it was exciting to meet in person! Lea, what a great surprise - I didn't even know you'd be there! How is our picture blurrrrry? But I think you got one.

The first day - a blast meeting people. Here's Jojo of Jojo's Book Corner, me (looking worse for wear! Larissa from Larissa's life, author Nicole Peeler, and Pam/Spaz, reviewer at Wicked Lil' Pixie.

Here we are, Nicole (who was my roomie for the event) Pam from Wicked! and me. Pam was such a trooper with her casted, post-op foot.

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

99¢ AAD sale, book signing, & sweet giveaways around blogtown!

Hey woodland buddies! So, I'm off to Authors After Dark (AAD), a reader/author convention in Philadelphia (a city name that is almost as hard to spell as Phoenix, I have discovered!)

You actually don't need this card to get
the 99-cent deal - it's the price everywhere
during AAD. But, the card makes it funner!

Special AAD Wild & Steamy deal
Both Meljean Brook and I will be at AAD, and we have cooked up a special AAD deal for our anthology, where it will cost only 99¢ during the conference! We have these nifty cards we'll be handing out with QR codes that take smartphones to our Wild & Steamy site. (But, everyone can get in on the 99¢ AAD sale by buying it the regular way! It's just funner with the cards.)

Signing
It will be a weekend full of book-related fun: panels, parties, games, meeting readers and other authors. If you're in the Philly area this weekend, there is a big AAD multi-author signing downtown at the Doubletree Hotel. It's Saturday from 2-4, and completely free and open to the public! I will be there, handing out my trading cards and the Wild & Steamy card, and signing books. And here's a list of other authors who will be there.

Out and about: fun things & giveaways

Book Editor extraordinaire Beth over at CC2K went to Borders recently and grabbed some faves, and created a Fare Thee Well Borders book giveaway. Up for grabs: Outlander by Gabaldon, Unholy Ghosts by Stacia Kane, Feed by Mira Grant, A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving, and Mind Games by you know who. Go forth and enter.

Book Faery Tori's Battle of the Sexies: Sidekick edition fun rages on--also with some serious prize action!

Do real-life things ever seem vaguely like they belong in an urban fantasy book? Then my post this week over at the League of Reluctant Adults is for you: Everyday things that seem vaguely UF - will illustrations!

I hope everybody has a safe and excellent week. I will try to post pictures. I will, I will!

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Wild & Steamy, our $2.99 ebook novella antho: Live!

Wild & Steamy has finally gone live…in most places. It’s $2.99 on Kindle, and on Smashwords, and All Romance Ebooks, (where you can get epub, pdf, mobi and other formats) the Nook and I think it will be on Sony and iApple, and elsewhere soon.

Wild & Steamy is a collection of three novellas that the three of us banded together to publish on our own. It contains an Iron Seas novella by Meljean Brook, and a werefox novella by Jill Myles, and a Disillusionists novella by me (it can be read all on its own without reading the series, but in series order, the action happens after Double Cross).

Three all-new novellas of the supernatural and steampunk kind...

"The Blushing Bounder" by Meljean Brook - A Tale of the Iron Seas - While the search for a killer puts Constable Newberry’s life in danger, he faces a danger of another kind: to his heart, by the woman forced to marry him. What will it take for this prudish bounder to convince his wife to stay? (13K words)

"Vixen" by Jill Myles - Miko’s denied her were-fox nature for far too long and turned her back on her vixen heritage. But when she meets two very sexy cat-shifters, she has to decide if she truly wants to give up on her frisky side, or embrace it. Because the were-fox in her doesn’t want to choose between both men…it wants them both. (15K words)

"Kitten-tiger & the Monk" by Carolyn Crane - A Disillusionists Novella - Sophia Sidway, Midcity’s most dangerous memory revisionist, seeks out the mysterious Monk in the wasteland beneath the Tangle turnpike, hoping for redemption…but it turns out that the Monk is not all that pious, and the turnpike is no turnpike at all. (20K words)

My Favorite Sidekick...
In other news, I'm over at Book Faery talking about who my #1 favorite fiction sidekick is, as part of the Battle of the Sexies: Sidekick edition!

Come stop by!

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Carter's rage-aholic-y travel guide to Midcity!

Wow! There's some crazy action over at All Things Urban Fantasy today... Disillusionist Carter, whose specialty is rage, is giving travel tips on:

Eating out in Midcity
Getting around in Midcity
Places to shop
Safety tips!

And giving away a copy of Wild & Steamy, which contains a stand-alone Midcity-based novella. Come join the fun!

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Where is Wild & Steamy? The shame...and the contest!

Dear readers,

Perhaps you are wondering: WHERE the heck is the Wild & Steamy Anthology? The supposed Steampunk and Supernatural trio of novellas that a certain trio of supposed authors has been crowing about all these months? Wasn't the release date supposed to be JULY 25th???

Yet it doesn't seem to be on Amazon, or Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords, or All Romance Ebooks or Apple or anywhere!! How can it be??

*shamefaces*
It's not ready!!! We are sorry.

Release date: between now and August 3rd
Guess the time & date and win a copy!

We're editing, revising, proofing and formatting like crazy. We so badly want it to be perfect and awesome, and we underestimated the time we'd need. We really do apologize for putting an overly ambitious date up there. We're soooo close to done, we nearly made it, but we don't want to just slap it up there to make this deadline. We need...an extension.

When will Wild & Steamy be released? We are sure we can comfortably have it out by August 3rd, 11:59 CST. Probably sooner, but August 1st is just to be safe. Which brings us to the contest!

Guess the new release date and win a copy contest!
All we know is that Wild & Steamy will go up for sale between now and August 3rd, 11:59 CST--as soon as we have it right we're putting it up. But when? Take your best guess. We're giving away FIVE copies of the book to the FIVE readers who make the closest guess of when it will finally go up for sale out there! Enter the contest here.

Where sold: At some point before August 3rd, it will be available for Kindle at Amazon, Nook at Barnes & Noble, Smashwords & All Romance Ebooks (many formats)

Rules:
1. Guess the day and the time (CST) you believe the elusive Wild & Steamy will finally go up for sale. (example: July 28, 3:15 pm) in the comments on Jill's site here.
2. DO NOT MAKE YOUR GUESS HERE! Make your guesses on Jill's site - One guess per person.
3. Make sure we can get your email address by clicking on your name, or else put your email addy with the guess you make.
4. Winners will get to pick the format and so forth. If you don't have an ereader, you can choose a pdf if you like, and read it on a computer or tablet. The winners will be announced when it goes up!!

Again, our apologies. Please know that we're hopoing to make it worth the wait.

Comments closed because you need to go to Jill's site to make your guess for a chance to win!

Friday, July 22, 2011

Random items of a Friday evening...

It may be old and dirty, but it works great,
and by god, it's kitty-proofed!!

Hot
Well, there's one advantage to having a somewhat wee condo - you can cool it down with one window unit air conditioner and a fan. And as I said to a friend recently, chocolate does taste better in the heat. Melty chocolate!!

Don't laugh at my fan - it is an awesome fan. It's like 20 years old, and just so powerful. The plastic slats in the back got brittle and started breaking off a few years back, which wouldn't be that big a problem, except I worried the cats would stick their paws in, so, using the principle of darning socks, I kitty proofed.

Mr. Crane scorns this fan. He went out and got another fan a few years ago, a shiny new plastic thing, and it has already broken, but not this baby! It is now hard at work circulating the air. Can you believe this heat? I went running today and I still don't feel right. Totally brutal.

Elsewhere
Do you do this - go through word phases, and you take a shine to a certain word and use it a lot? I'm going though that with the words wee and elsewhere. Wee I like for its subtle comic value. Wee really has tons of attitude; you find this out when you start using it.

But Elsewhere! This is a hell of a word. Coy and powerful. It forces sentences into a specific and singular order, and then it arranges their collar and makes them sit up straight. Like a mean, mysterious nanny. I am so into the word elsewhere.

Deadly Destinations
There's a really fun event this month over at All Things Urban Fantasy and Dark Faerie Tales called Deadly Destinations. It's authors being sort of summer tour guides to their novel settings and giving away tons of books. I'll be there in a week, giving away a copy of Wild & Steamy!!

More excellent series-kickoff books for temporary sunshine prices for kindle!
With all my ballyhooing of Nicole's cheapie dealio (see last post) I didn't realize TWO other leaguers have cheapie deals right now. Sunshine is on many shoulders!

Richelle Mead's Succubus Blues is only $3.99
Jaye Wells' Red-headed Stepchild is only $1.99
And there's Nicole's Tempest Rising: $1.99

I will admit this is a particularly insane detail;
note that a piece of the back is simply hanging
by the string. Well, it just is.

Three great opportunities to give three excellent, popular series kick-off books a test drive. I've heard this lasts through Sunday, and also, until the 27th. I don't know which thing is right.

A rare moment in the Crane household
I'm about to finish edits on the still-not-named book #3 which will fly into my agent's hands on Monday, and I recently finished a major part of a different new series project that is elsewhere.

So basically, on Monday, I will have a totally clean fiction plate, and I don't think the day job will be crazy. I think it's kind of a rare occurrence, and I'm excited for it. It means I can write whatever the hell I please during my special morning writing time. I have an idea for the best-ever new series, but I'm also thinking of doing a Simon novella, or doing a Christmas novella of some sort. I think I'll decide when I get there.

Adrian!!!!!!!!
I'm such a fan girl of Joanna Bourne, I had to trot out to her blog to see just when the heck Adrian's book is coming out, a book I've been waiting for since like 2009 when Spymaster's Lady, one of the best books ever written, blew my socks off.

I found a treat there: the Adrian cover. And an excerpt. And it will be out in November!!! The heroine of this book is named Justine. A fine name, Ms. Bourne! Godspeed to you on the edits!!

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Sunshine...on Nicole Peeler's $1.99 shoulder!

Good news! Nicole Peeler's first book, Tempest Rising, is a sunshine deal at Amazon for Kindle* - a steal at $1.99!! But only for the next week - it turns back into a pumpkin, albeit a delicious one, but a more expensive pumpkin, on July 27th. But right now, it's $1.99.

FIVE reasons to try this series:

Awesomeness. This series has taken its place in my pantheon of shiny, sexy, go-to series, right next to Kresley Cole's and Charlaine Harris's. Nicole is my galpal, but that's not why I'm saying all this - some of my galpals double as authors I love, and happily, Nicole is one of them.
Engaging heroine. Jane True is a vulnerable, fascinating and totally compelling heroine. I enjoy her careful intelligence, as well as her unabashed love of eating and other sensual pleasures.
Absorbing luv triangle. This book featured my favorite kind of love triangle, where both options are hugely attractive, but you definitely know who the hero is. A very low-angst triangle that lets you stop and smell the roses. Smutty goodness all along the way.
Smart, surprising worldbuilding. This is a strong world. Nicole brings lots of knowledge to UF, and isn't afraid to toy with the tropes and pull out some very crazy kinds of creatures, either. So enjoyable.
It's just 1.99 at Amazon!!

*You know what's funny? Ten years ago, the phrase "sunshine deal at Amazon for the Kindle" would have been total nonsense to me. But, then, so much would be. If I travelled back in time, I could really freak myself out!!)

Monday, July 18, 2011

My new skirt, a passive-aggressive conflict at the store, and a bit of flash! + a question

First of all, I hope everybody is feeling sorry for us poor folks in Minnesota - It was like 100 today, but the heat index was 120!!!

Okay, please wipe your tears now, because otherwise you won't be able to admire my awesome new woodland scene skirt!!! I so love it. I got it at the used clothing store today. Somebody handmade it...I'm thinking out of curtains. It just feels like that.

I totally think the heat is affecting people. Today at that store...okay, I'll set the stage: it is pretty cramped in there, with racks all along the very long walls and the middle. There was this woman looking through the racks, making her way right to left, and I was going the opposite way, left to right. Granted, I started looking after her, but there was a good deal of tundra between us when I started. Maybe ten feet!

Then, I'm, you know, riffling through the racks, making my way down, and I notice her just to my right, standing still as a statue, and sort of a step back from the rack. And I feel her eyes on me, burning into my neck, and I'm like, is something wrong? And she goes, You're looking right where I was going to look! And she was super mad. Usually at this store, you just swap positions, but she seemed really to think I was messing with her. So I said, look, I'll skip down. And she said, No, you can look there, and I'll just wait here. That didn't sound very fun to me, so I skipped this whole section of rack.

So later, she's disappeared, and I revisit the section I skipped, and just then, she comes around a circular dress rack right behind it, and we're yet again on a collision course. I was completely in her way again. It was sort of funny, because, she really did think I was messing with her. I do think it's the heat!!

My skirt is quite flash, don't you think?
I don't know if I'm using that word right. I am reading Meredith Duran's amazing, glorious and riveting A Lady's Lesson in Scandal right now. I am richly enjoying every aspect of it. Especially the details of the working girl life, and the working girl slang. I love when the heroine says a thing is 'flash' like, oh this is a bit of flash, or, that skirt is real flash.

I was thinking that use of flash belonged specifically to that time period, but then yesterday DH and I were working out to Adam and the Ants and Adam used the word flash just like that in a song. Was Adam using it as an older word, or is it a modern UK usage? Do people walk around calling things flash? I think the song was about pirates, one of Adam's main obsessions. Maybe he was using the word flash as pirate lingo. Is this a word of pirates and guttersnipes of old, or what? UK friends, please advise.

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Confessions of a torrid eye cheater!

As a writer, I used to be a total snob about cheating on eye descriptions. Part of it comes from having worked for some years with a very exacting writing mentor. A brilliant and highly trained English fellow (and really, the best teacher ever) who would very nearly mock any liberties I took with eyes.

I used to be so pure about eye
descriptions. Now, not so much.

I can picture him now, my offending pages clutched in his hands: “His eyes were sad? What does it mean that his eyes were sad? His eyeballs, do you mean? Tell me, how do eyeballs look sad? They don’t get sad. Eyeballs are inanimate! Were there tears glistening upon them? Then you say that. Or is it the skin around the eyebrows that changed shape, creating a sad effect? Was his brow furrowed? Certain kind of frown?”

This whole thing made me really sensitive to writers cheating with eyes. Even some of my favorite writers, those I consider towering in their brilliance, cheat a bit. Even major huge NYT best-selling writers cheat quite boldly. This isn’t a real line, but stuff like this: “There was a stormy look in his eyes, chased by sorrow, and then a dawning recognition of what had come to pass in that room, after which his eyes were shuttered with hate.”

I would sometimes be darkly impressed by a line like that, a total sleight of hand that’s a blatant form of telling disguised as showing. A writer pretending to describe outward appearance, but telling a state of mind. And nobody made her rewrite it! And here I would be slaving over tears and hardened facial planes squinching eyes.

I really kept to my purity around eye description for a long time. I don’t believe you will find any eyeball liberties whatsoever in Mind Games, where I tended to rely a lot on widened and narrowed eyes, as well as gleaming eyes, and sometimes sides of eyes with little wrinkles of happiness.

I recall doing one or two eye cheats in Double Cross and being thrilled nobody stopped me, because it really is convenient to cheat like that when you have a lot going in a scene. I didn’t cheat horribly, stuff like “a surprised light in her eyes.”

I have drunk the eye-cheat Kool-aid. It's quite delicious!

Light was kind of my gateway cheat. In real life, people can have a light in their eyes, but adding surprised is the cheat part—I mean, if you showed a lineup of eye photos, you wouldn’t be able to tell a surprised light from an angry light without the context of the face or situation. There simply is no such thing as a surprised light.

Anyway, I’m doing edits on book #3, and I was just laughing the other day, because I have totally started eye-cheating! Here, a selection of my cheats:

I keep a frantic eye on the air overhead.

Packard turns to me, and there’s a lonely light in his eyes.

Otto sits up, brown eyes glittering darkly.

Packard's lonely light is the boldest one--basically, I'm telling the inward state of the man by pretending to show it in the eyes. Okay, glittering darkly is pretty bad—that’s really about something going on in Ottos's face that I didn’t feel like getting into. Even that frantic eye on the air overhead is pretty slippery. My narrator is frantic, but the eye isn't. All in all, total cheater ways of sneaking state of mind into a physical description. But oh so convenient.

My name is Carolyn Crane and I am an eye cheater!

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not condemning writers who eye cheat. (Especially since I have started!) I mean, you can walk into any museum and see a good portion of beloved paintings that aren’t realistic whatsoever, and nobody’s going around like, that’s not a even what a hand looks like!

There are books on my loftiest keeper shelf (penned by writers whose feet I would kiss in a second if that sort of thing wouldn’t make me persona non grata at conventions) that contain the phrase “eyes were shuttered…” Different writers are up to different things, and have different goals, and if an eye cheat works, it works.

I just think it’s funny, because, if you knew how pure I used to be around it, you would totally laugh about the lonely light in Packard’s eyes, too. But, what the heck! I am keeping that lonely light line, and I might write more just like it.

Public domain images from wiki commons: Anton van Dyck self portrait, The Eye by Haley Davis, Charles V at Muhlberg, eye detail, by Titian, Gjord i Paint.net Jagsjalv

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Gasp! Disillusionist trilogy coming to audiobook soon!

What will audio Justine be like?

Well, the summer of exciting things (or at least, exciting-to-me-things) continues with Audible picking up the Disillusionist trilogy!

Which means that they are probably currently casting somebody to be the voice of Justine Jones.

What will this Justine be like? I have her voice in my head, but I could not tell you what it sounds like in the world. This is just so exciting. A voice actress will bring a whole new dimension of interpretation to the books. She will have to make choices on how to say each line. She will sort of have to decide what kind of person Justine is. The whole thing is both scary and wonderful.

All three audiobooks will be out this October. Which means, if you are an audiobook aficionado, the release of book #3 is a bit over a month early - digital comes out December 6, and later in 2012 for print.

I know the different release times of #3 may seem wacky, but my main aim has always been to make book #3 the best damn book I can write, and that the book would be available to the most readers in the most forms, and this is how I put it together…non linear as it may appear! And let me say, I am feverishly excited about #3.

All three books will be available through audible.com (and, I think, all other online bookstores where Mind Games and Double Cross are sold, but I'm not entirely clear on the details - I'll post when I have more.)

Anyway, that is a new awesome thing at Casa Crane. If I get a sneak snippet of Justine's voice, I'll post it if I can. Eeeep!

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

All sorts of release week insanity at the league!

It's a major release week over at the League of Reluctant Adults!

Read all about it, including Diana Rowland's tattoo challenge, which I'm sort of horrified-ly fascinated with. (She'll get the tattoo pictured right if she hits the NYT list with her White Trash Zombie novel!)

Plus, the lowdown on releases from Michelle Rowen, Kevin Hearne, KA Steward and Dakota Cassidy! Come on over for the deets.

Saturday, July 2, 2011

Mind Games & Double Cross International ebooks on sale this weekend!

Just a quickie update before I start my day: Mind Games and Double Cross ebooks are available for just $3.49 each - this weekend only - in whatever digital format you choose.

Now, these are the international editions, so, if you live in the US, Canada or the Philippines, this sale doesn't work for you. (Sorry!) Still, I think it's great that international readers get an advantage for once.

At right, this is what my international ebook covers look like!

Go here for book #1, Mind Games

Go here for book #2, Double Cross

UPDATE: Sale ended July 4th

Friday, July 1, 2011

What do tortured masterminds wear to the beach?

Come on over to Larissa's bookish life for a rare and kind of wacky summery interview with Sterling Packard!

It's part of the Bookish Haven Summer Vacation Event, hosted by Larissa's Life and Paranormal Haven.

We're at the tail end of this event, but there is still plenty of fun--and prizes up for grabs--at both these awesome blogs. And come say hi to Packard and me here!

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Release day! Kindling the Moon by Jenn Bennett

I had the pleasure of devouring this very awesome book ahead of time, and look! It's finally out! Our newbie author Jenn is enjoying the breathless, nerve-wracking, can't-concentrate-on-anything, gimme-that-chocolate release day experience!

The only way I would love this book more is if my blurb was on the FRONT like Karen Chance's and Ann Aguirre's. Am I not more famous than those two losers? What? I'm not? Not at all? LOL.

Here's my blurb:
"Delicious characters, fun twists, and fiendish risks…this smart, stylish debut really delivers. Loved loved loved it!" ~Carolyn Crane

I was so not being full of crap on that blurb. I found this to be a riveting and highly swashbuckling read with great characters, plus a magical storyline that took me off the beaten UF path. Really, I thought the worldbuilding and the engineering of the magical workings were just wonderful. Then there’s the single father hero who has absolutely great chemistry with our intrepid heroine - I really enjoyed him! There is also a fabulous frenemies storyline that I found to be understated and very hilarious. And of course, a fine and twisty plot. Hello! Can’t wait for this next one.

Okay, the official blurb:

Meet Arcadia Bell: bartender, renegade magician, fugitive from the law. . . Being the spawn of two infamous occultists (and alleged murderers) isn’t easy, but freewheeling magician Arcadia “Cady” Bell knows how to make the best of a crummy situation. After hiding out for seven years, she’s carved an incognito niche for herself slinging drinks at the demon-friendly Tambuku Tiki Lounge.

But she receives an ultimatum when unexpected surveillance footage of her notorious parents surfaces: either prove their innocence or surrender herself. Unfortunately, the only witness to the crimes was an elusive Æthyric demon, and Cady has no idea how to find it. She teams up with Lon Butler, an enigmatic demonologist with a special talent for sexual spells and an arcane library of priceless stolen grimoires.

Their research soon escalates into a storm of conflict involving missing police evidence, the decadent Hellfire Club, a ruthless bounty hunter, and a powerful occult society that operates way outside the law. If Cady can’t clear her family name soon, she’ll be forced to sacrifice her own life . . . and no amount of running will save her this time.

INSTANT CONTEST ALERT!!! Leave a comment and I'll draw one winner tomorrow afternoon at 4 pm CST and send them a copy of this awesome book (International welcome).

The rest of you will have to buy it from your neighborhood bookstore or online. Luckily, it's easy! A measly eight bucks for hours of pleasure. Buy links from Jenn's page: AMAZON | BOOK DEPOSITORY| BARNES & NOBLE | BORDERS | BOOKS-A-MILLION | INDIEBOUND | POWELLS |MYSTERIOUS GALAXY | CHAPTERS (CANADA)
PDF Download of First Chapter here. More on the elusive Jenn Bennett here. Read a review here.
PS: why do my fonts and spaces look so crazy and messed up? *shakes fist in mute anger at Blogger*

Monday, June 27, 2011

Monday things: Interview, antho release dates & kitties!

July 25

Interview! I'm over at the awesome Romance Books forum doing a fun interview - Alix and I are talking superhero skills, having scandalous thoughts about anatomy (at least I am; Alix wisely stays mum!), the difference between writing a novella and a series, the song I will always sing aloud when I hear it, and some of the thinking behind Mind Games, Double Cross and the Disillusionists Trilogy...and so much more. Come say hi!

Release dates: The two anthologies I'm in have new release dates. The wonderful, wonderful Wild & Steamy will be coming out July 25th (if not before, but for sure by then).

And, Mammoth Book of Ghost Romance has been pushed back to summer of 2012 - a year later than planned. *sob* I was really excited for it to come out, because it was the first non-disillusionists thing I'd written for publication and also, the first short I've written since the dawn of time. (I actually called my writer friend to ask what the goal is with a short story - she had this whole explanation on everything turning on a moment.) And, when you're a writer (or at least, when you're me) you want to instantly share everything you have written, because that is exciting and fun (unless people hate it!). Well, when Ghost finally does come out, maybe it will be like finding a forgotten Kit Kat candy bar in my purse.

Kitties: I had a busy weekend, but not as busy as the kitties, who were working really hard on their cuteness skills. Momma is so proud!

Have a nice week, everyone, and if you're going to RWA, I hope you have a wonderful, wonderful time (she says as her complexion turns ever so faintly green). I await pictures! I will live the dream through your pictures!

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Great moments in last night's reading: immersion vs travelogue in UF world-building

Gah! I've been so swamped, I haven't done one of my great moments posts forever, and I have tons of great moments I've made notes for to talk about. Okay, this one is from last month.

Great Moments from Last Night's Reading
Book: The Sweet Scent of Blood by Suzanne McLeod
Page: 61
Spoiler level: zero

There’s a certain sly element of cool in Suzanne McLeod’s The Sweet Scent of Blood. I was thinking today about how she achieved it, and in part, I feel like she does something that a lot of my favorite ultra-contemporary, high-realism cable dramas do, like THE WIRE, or the movie INCEPTION, for example, in the sense that you’re admitted into a world, but not given a whole travelogue about it.

This creates a sheen of otherness, and so part of the fun and dazzle is to behold all the people and strange goings-on and piece things together. By the end, you get the ins and outs and back alleys, and it’s kind of satisfying.

I don’t mean that the plot is hard to follow, though it’s certainly more complex than most, but more that you get the world through immersion.

This is especially true with the small details—the surface details. I was absolutely thrilled with this underground ride our main character Genny took. These goblins come onto her car. Gazza is a jerk. We’ve seen goblins before in the book - as literal minded bodyguards - but suddenly there are these other kinds of goblins. Here, the passage:

...His white translucent ears flicked like a rat’s and he clutched a gold lamé satchel tight to his chest, almost obscuring the London Underground badge on his navy boiler-suit – a gold embroidered ‘G’ that marked him as a Gatherer.

He slid a thin grey finger down his twitching nose. ‘Rubbish, miss.’

My disguise wasn’t good enough to trick a goblin, or even a vamp – not that it mattered. It was only the witches I was trying to fool.

I shook my head at the goblin, then touched my own nose in reply.

He patted the flap of his satchel. ‘Thankee, miss.’

The goblin clomped along to Gazza, his trainers flashed green with every step. ‘Rubbish, mister.’

Gazza sneered again. ‘Bugger off, you little creep.’

The goblin grinned up at him, baring black serrated teeth, three of them studded with square-cut garnets. He opened his mouth wide, leaned forward and snapped his teeth together with a loud crack, right next to Gazza’s cheap PVC-covered groin. ‘Rubbish, mister,’ he demanded.

Huddling against the door, his eyes wide, Gazza fumbled in his coat pocket, found something and offered it warily to the goblin. A stick of chewing gum, still wrapped.

Thin fingers plucked at it, then tucked it away inside the gold lamé satchel. ‘Thankee, mister.’ The goblin stamped his feet, leapt onto a seat and curled up in a ball, his arms hugging tight around his bag.

And that, to my memory, is the first and last we see or hear of these freak-ay goblin trash gatherers. Why are they asking people for trash? Why do they have gold lame satchels? What is the deal with the goblin stamping his feet, leaping onto a seat, and curling into a ball hugging his bag?

You never find out, and I absolutely loved that, because it made this strange world truly strange. If this was key to the plot, I might feel mystified or even left behind, but it’s not key to the plot. So it just became this quirky, random world detail that really made me as a reader feel like I’d gained entrée to a new land.

McLeod definitely takes a risk with this, because it’s such extreme ‘show-don’t-tell’, albeit for an insignificant surface detail.

I think a lot of other authors, including myself, might have given Genny some opinions about these guys as a way to guide the reader, like, “I don’t know what these goblins did with their trash or why the underground union employed them, but at least the cars were clean. Some speculated that… bla bla.” But wouldn’t that be boring? It is way cooler just to have them show up, collect trash that’s not even trash, and exit.

Because, isn’t how that is when you’re traveling in a foreign country? I enjoyed this effect.