New books I'm INSANELY EXCITED ABOUT !! (that you can win in the next 36 hours)

Books, books! These are the books on my fangirl and friend radar, and I'm giving two lucky commenters who act before Tuesday night their choice. See directions below!

HEART OF STEEL by Meljean Brook (Iron Seas Series #2)

•Out November 1•

I am feverishly excited about this one--these characters are a couple of my faves from THE IRON DUKE, which was one of my top three favorite books of the year last year. Yes, I will be running to the bookstore to get this in paper so I can underline stuff and dog ear the pages and moon over it and totally ravish it as only an author fangirl can. This series rocks, and I'm not just saying that because Meljean is also my antho buddy. 

Top pick from RT Magazine: “Rising star Brook has created two completely mesmerizing characters whose journeys in this gritty and treacherous world make for heart-stopping fun!”

Back blurb: Return to the gritty, alluring world of steampunk with the New York Times bestselling author of The Iron Duke.

Growing up in the dangerous world of the Iron Seas, the mercenary captain of the airship Lady Corsair, Yasmeen, has learned to keep her heart hard as steel. Ruthless and cunning, her only loyalty is to her ship and her crew-until one man comes along and changes everything...Treasurehunter Archimedes Fox isn't interested in the Lady Corsair-just the captain and the valuable da Vinci sketch she stole from him. When it attracts a dangerous amount of attention, Yasmeen and Archimedes journey to Horde-occupied Morocco- and straight into enemy hands.

THE LADY'S SECRET by Joanna Chambers 

•out November 7th•

The amazing debut from my brilliant critique partner! I'll have a full write-up next week when THE LADY'S SECRET releases, but I wanted to put it in this group because I'm double-dip excited. 

This is the twisty and fabulously fun tale of Georgiana, who goes undercover as a boy valet to the devastatingly handsome, melancholy Lord Harland. Fun, sexy, awesome. And there are interesting things about classes and servants. And danger! And hugely fun reveals! Oh, this book! This book! 

Blurb: London, 1810

Former actress Georgiana Knight always believed she and her brother were illegitimate–until they learn their parents were married, making them heirs to a great estate. To prove their claim, Georgy needs to find evidence of their union by infiltrating a ton house party as valet to Lord Nathaniel Harland . Though masquerading as a boy is a challenge, it pales in comparison to sharing such intimate quarters with the handsome, beguiling nobleman.

Nathan is also unsettled by Georgy’s presence. First intrigued by his unusual valet, he’s even more captivated when he discovers Georgy’s charade. The desire the marriage-shy earl feels for his enigmatic employee has him hoping for much more than a master-servant relationship…

But will Nathan still want Georgy when he learns who she truly is? Or will their future be destroyed by someone who would do anything to prevent Georgy from uncovering the truth?

Releases November 7th. Excerpt here. Pre-order from Carina, for the Nook, for the Kindle.

BEAUTY DATES THE BEAST by Jessica Sims (Midnight Liasons #1)

•out now•

Jessica Sims (aka Jill Myles, my other anthology galpal) has a wonderful way of creating delightful and sexy set-ups - and then totally delivering. So I am eagerly waiting for this one to arrive (there is a lost book shipment out there with the Crane name on it). BEAUTY DATES THE BEAST is about a paranormal dating agency, and our heroine, Bathsheba has to date all these guys to protect her sister. *rubs hands* 

From Publishers Weekly: Jill Myles (The Succubus Diaries) debuts as Jessica Sims with a funny, sexy, and lively first book in a shapeshifter series. Bathsheba Ward’s mission in life is to protect her sister’s secret: Sara was bitten by a werewolf in a vicious attack six years earlier. Both work for the paranormal dating service Midnight Liaisons. After Bathsheba fills in on a broken date with cougar shifter Beau Russell, head of the Russell clan, her boss threatens to out Sara unless Bathsheba agrees to date a variety of paranormals who lust after her Alliance-certified virginity...  

The blurb: WANTED

Single human female to join charming, wealthy, single male were-cougar for a night of romantic fun—and maybe more.

Me: The tall, sensuous, open-minded leader of my clan.

You: A deliciously curvy virgin who’s intimately familiar with what goes bump in the night. Must not be afraid of a little tail. Prefer a woman who’s open to exploring her animal nature. Interest in nighttime walks through the woods a plus.

My turn-ons include protecting you from the worst the supernatural world has to offer. Ready for an adventure? Give me a call.

Vampires and doppelgangers need not apply.

SWEET MAGIC by Penny Watson

•out November 4th•

It has become my own little Christmas reading tradition to pick up the latest in my author friend Penny's series - she's working her merry, sexy way through all of Santa's sons (this year it's extreme sporter Oskar Klaus) while tirelessly working to raise awareness of the sexiness of beards!  

Blurb: Oskar Klaus' job is killing him. Not even his favorite hobbies (extreme snowboarding and browsing old bookstores) are enough to snap him out of his funk. It's not easy living in the shadow of four successful older brothers and a father named Santa. Little does he know that a kiss on New Year's Eve is about to turn his life upside-down.

Kiana Grant's Manhattan life is a world away from her childhood in Oahu. She traded sunsets and surfing for a respectable career in library science, but Oskar Klaus is a temptation that's hard to resist. Before she knows it, she's in the midst of an outrageous adventure in the North Pole, dealing with mischievous elves, wicked demons, and a devastating attraction to Santa's youngest son.

There's just one problem...a bitter elf hell-bent on revenge threatens the future of everyone in the North Pole, even Santa himself... Ebook only. Releases this 11/4. Information and excerpt here.

IF YOU HEAR HER by Shiloh Walker

•out now•

Confession: I love plots about curious regular people who get involved in mysteries, and I also love the work of my galpal Shiloh Walker, so this is an oreo sandwich I shall not be resisting. (My lost book shipment out there has this book in it, supposedly coming my way.) I couldn't be more psyched!!

From Publishers Weekly:

First of a projected romantic suspense trilogy, this hefty superheated exercise in uninhibited abandon alternates between a serial psycho-killer musing over his unlucky victims and a titillating fling between sexy blind chef Lena Riddle and sexier state cop Ezra King in smalltown Ash, Ky. Ezra, trying to recuperate from wounds to body and soul, is so attracted to Lena that he can’t help plunging into an informal investigation of screams she hears outside her rural home in the middle of the night…

Blurb: A CRY IN THE WOODS
 
The scream Lena Riddle hears in the woods behind her house is enough to curdle her blood—she has no doubt that a woman is in real danger. Unfortunately, with no physical evidence, the local law officers in small-town Ash, Kentucky, dismiss her claim. But Lena knows what she heard—and it leaves her filled with fear and frustration.

Ezra King is on leave from the state police, but he can’t escape the guilty memories that haunt his dreams. When he sees Lena, he is immediately drawn to her. He aches to touch her—to be touched by her—but is he too burdened by his tragic past to get close? When Ezra hears her story of an unknown woman’s screams, his instincts tell him that Lena’s life is also at risk—and his desire to protect her is as fierce as his need to possess her.

THE BLACK HAWK by Joanna Bourne

•Out November 7th•

Okay, this has only been one of my most anticipated books SINCE 2008!! Two other books in this series, Bourne's Spymaster's Lady and The Forbidden Rose are a two of my all-time favorite books, two of the best books in all the world. I don't feel like you have to read these in order. Some may differ. I understand from Katiebabs that THE BLACK HAWK is nothing short of fabulous. I am hyperventilating RIGHT NOW. I must have it. You must have it! 

Back copy: Attacked on a rainy London street, veteran spy Justine DeCabrillan knows only one man can help her: Hawker, who also happens to be the enemy. With London crawling with hidden assassins and someone out to frame Hawker for the assault, the two spies must work together to find who's out to destroy them...

From the Library Journal

Attacked and badly wounded by an assassin's blade, former French spy Justine DeCabrillac ("Owl") struggles through the rain to the home of the only man she can depend on to save her, English agent Adrian Hawkhurst, her longtime adversary—and unforgettable lover. But Justine is not the only one in danger; the killer is out to bring down Hawk as well. And it will take all of their finely honed skills and wary, hard-won trust to unearth—and destroy—the elusive, brutal villain. 

Vivid, illuminating flashbacks fill in the missing years of our protagonists' bond, developing the passionate, deeply conflicted relationship between Justine and Hawk with unparalleled insight and craft. VERDICT Beautifully flawed, intensely human characters, a deadly puzzle, and a love that survives incredible odds combine to make this another emotionally riveting page-turner from Bourne (The Forbidden Rose), whose novels always deliver. Fans of historical romance will be all over this one.

HOW TO WIN:

1. Leave a comment, any comment - you can talk about any or all of the books, or you can talk about your cat or anything! Your comment does NOT have to say what book you'll choose. 

2. You have to leave your comment here on the blog - if you are seeing this on Goodreads or Facebook, come over, cover over, Red Rover!

3. Make sure your email is in the comment, or else that I can get it by clicking on your name.

4. Live somewhere in the world where book depository ships.

I will choose a TWO winners Tuesday (November 1st) before I go to bed. I will email those people then and they will each get to choose what book they win, in what form.  Hey, Happy Halloween everyone! 

Disillusionists' haunted house... & LB Gregg...oh nooooooo!

The Disillusionists have made a haunted house! 
Imagine my surprise to see how busy my characters have been, planning out their own haunted house.

Stop by at the fabulous Paranormal Haven today to see how each of the Disillusionists would decorate their haunted house room for maximum scariness! And, you could win a signed copy of Double Cross!

Visit the Disillusionists Haunted House at Paranormal Haven here.

If LB Gregg was not cut off from
all social media, she would remind you
that this book is out today!!

LB Gregg...oh noooo!
My galpal and sometimes partner in crime, LB Gregg (recently dubbed "the Jayne Ann Krentz of gay fiction) got the opportunity to travel to China this month. Sure, she has a book release today, but she figured she could tweet and remind her fans from there. Right?

WRONG! She is totally cut off from access to twitter, facebook (mostly) and her blog and even the Thrillionth Page is censored!

So, I am helping her to remind folks that Dudleytown her sexy, krazy fun, M/M romantic comedy is coming out today!   Excerpt here.  Read about it and buy it here. 

Goblins, Demons & Spirits for your modern life

Don't forget to visit over at the fabulous Bastard Books, read about how YOUR life can improve through demons, spirits and goblins...and win! Check it out here. 

Head Rush release: a handy field guide

Head Rush  is releasing in stages...like a rocket! 

I'm so excited that HEAD RUSH is finally coming out..little by little. You can't imagine how eager I have been to have it be in the hands of ALL readers who want it THIS INSTANT. Well, that will be soon.

Audio: All three books in the Disillusionists trilogy – Mind Games, Double Cross, and Head Rush – are now out in audio on audible.com. Here is the link to Head Rush. And you can hear a sample, too! I think the narrator is great.

Chapter 1&2 excerpts: In the meantime, 'Head Rush  chapters 1&2 will be up on my site--in about two weeks (I’m still finalizing the ebook end of things with Samhain.) I'll post here, on my site, and on facebook when those excerpts go up. Oh, and it will be in my newsletter, too.

Ebook: The ebook will come out on December 6th. It’s not yet available for pre-order, but it will be in early November, in online stores like Amazon, Sony, Barnes & Noble, ARE and others and I’ll have a link for them here and elsewhere.

Print: Out sometime in 2012 – check back!

ebooks and audiobooks...what's the deal?

There's information and links on how audiobooks work, and also how to read ebooks even if you don't have an ereader, on the books page of my site.

♥♥♥♥
I can’t begin to say how appreciative I am for all the goodwill through this, and everyone for being so patient and awesome through the crazy and very non-linear journey of book #3!! An author couldn't ask for better, more supportive readers. 

Goblins, spirits & demons for your beautiful modern life

Read about the Badi and other potentially useful spirits
and demons at Bastard Books!

One of the things I've noticed in recent research: People in the olden days blamed spirits for a lot of what went wrong. 


It makes me sad we don’t have many spirits to blame stuff on these days. Lucky for you, I've found some that you might be able to use... 


Today, I'm at Bastard Books having some crazy fun. Come visit. And, you can win something, too!


Come on over to Bastard Books and say hi!

I'm over at sffworld! Interview & roundtable

New Interview at sffworld.com now
I'm super honored to be over at sffworld.com for an interview today! sffworld.com is a massive site for all things Fantasy, Science Fiction, Horror and more. There's always something interesting going on there.

JA Pitts will be at the
roundtable with me.

We discussed the characters and relationships, and talked about Faustian bargains, Midcity and lots more.

Come and say hi if you get a chance. 

Roundtable starting tomorrow
I'll also get the chance to take part in a contemporary fantasy (which includes UF) roundtable there starting later this week - along with authors John Levitt and J.A. (John) Pitts, and possibly another author.

J. A. Pitts is the author of Black Blade Blues and Honeyed Words and the upcoming Hearth and Home (2012,  Tor)  This is the Urban Fantasy series featuring Sarah Beauhall, a tough-as-nails blacksmith, movie props manager and medieval reenactor in Seattle, WA.

The books fuse Norse Mythology with the modern world. And who doesn't love a lesbian blacksmith heroine? And reenactor? So cool.

John Levitt will also be
at the roundtable. 

John Levitt is the author of the urban fantasy series featuring Mason, who has magical abilities, and his trusty companion, an Ifrit – a spirit familiar named Louie that takes the shape of an animal, in this case, a dog. 


He’s also a jazz guitarist who used to police other magic-users, and he gets dragged back into it by violent events. Well, I always say, hooray for a magical musician with a dog familiar.  Books include Dog Days, New Tricks, Unleashed and Play Dead. 

I think these roundtables are really fun and interesting ways for authors and readers to interact beyond just surface questions. And, both of these authors are doing exciting work and will have lots of good things to say (and hopefully I will, too. I'm a little nervous!)

Our rountable is right here, going on now through the next week or more. Do drop in!

Kindle-aholic declares a Disillusionists re-read & Jaye Wells declares her own damn holiday

Disillusionists Re-read!! 
I was psyched to learn that blogger extraordinaire, Kindle-aholic, is running a Disillusionists re-read during the month of November in preparation for the release of HEAD RUSH.

It looks like a really fun group, with some people who are brand new to the series and some doing the re-read.

You can participate right on her blog or through the Goodreads group she's set up for it. (And, in addition to all the crazy fun, one participant will win a Head Rush ARC!)

Jaye wells declares a holiday
My author pal Jaye has declared October International Urban Fantasy Month, and she's celebrating it on her blog  by giving away a HUGE bunch of awesome prizes - and by awesome prizes I of course mean tons of books. And lord knows what else she'll get up to. Be sure to drop in.

Image: From one of my trading cards. You can get a set by emailing me with your snailmail addy! carolyn (at) authorcarolyncrane.com

Bookshelf porn...and Gumby-finding help

Good morning friends! I  hope everyone is doing well and enjoying their weekend.

So, first off, I'm over at Book Lover's Inc. for their big 1000 follower celebration with bookshelf porn. It's like a tour through my bookshelves.

If you haven't been there this past week, tons of authors and bloggers are getting all nerdy about books. And there are many many giveaways!

Come say hi!

Also, I know it is hard to find the shadowy head of our little green friend on my new cover.

And, it's not even green. So, here is a wee clue.

I wish for all of you a lovely day of good books, good people, and to-do lists full of crossed-out items!

HEAD RUSH: Cover art and back cover copy!! Yippee!

I'm so happy to have my cover! It's by award-winning cover artist Kanaxa (aka Nathalie Gray).

I think it is just marvelous!  And also, my new back cover copy.

JUSTINE JONES FACES HER ULTIMATE ENEMY: HERSELF! 

Book Three in The Disillusionists Trilogy

In an attempt to put her unhappy past behind her, Justine Jones throws herself into nursing school and planning her wedding to Otto Sanchez, the man of her dreams. But something is off. Random details aren’t adding up…and is it her imagination, or are her friends and fiancé keeping secrets from her? And what’s with this strange sense of unease, and her odd new headaches?

Justine tries to stay upbeat as Midcity cowers under martial law, sleepwalking cannibals, and a mysterious rash of paranormal copycat violence, but her search for answers leads her into the most dangerous mind game yet.

With the help of unlikely allies, including her paranoid dad and best frenemy Simon, Justine fights her ultimate foe…and unravels the most startling mystery of all.

HEAD RUSH will come out as an audible.com audiobook (10/25) and on December 6th, 2011, as an ebook (available wherever ebooks are sold), and at some point in 2012 in print (available from the usual suspects online and select bookstores). A wild and wacky publishing schedule for the wild and wacky wrap-up of the Justine Jones saga! Thanks everyone for hanging in there with me!! 

PS: Ebook will be available for pre-order in about 2 weeks!


PPS: Hidden secret thing: One thing I love about this cover is that Justine's dashboard pal Gumby, who has a small but key part in the book, is represented just fleetingly...if you look hard at the lower left hand corner. Can't find it? See this post.

Yes, authors, you CAN respond to a negative review!

Hey everybody!! I'm over at the League of Reluctant Adults today blogging on responding to negative reviews...complete with helpful illustrations.

Come on over and say hi!

Random weekendy photos and happy Monday!

Good morning friends! I hope everybody had a good weekend. It was deliciously autumnal here. I got caught up on a day job project with a hot deadline, some novella writing, though unfortunately no cleaning. 

This photo from Friday night. The scene when I got back to bed from brushing my teeth. The cats love to be under the covers, and they stayed posed like this a miraculously long time while I got my smartphone. My twitter friends have seen this picture. Because of course, I must show everybody. 

Mr. Crane and I made coconut soup. It has tomatoes and onions and zucchini and miso and a bunch of other stuff - I can give the recipe if anybody wants it, but you really do need to open a few young coconuts with a machete. When the orange and white cat, Oblio, even hears the machete come out of the drawer he runs and hides, though sometimes he comes into the kitchen and cries in victimy protest while Mr. Crane is hacking away. You would think we routinely chase him around the place with it, but I swear, we never do! The soup was damn delicious. 

  

In addition to the mystery book from the post below, I am reading Dark Road to Darjeeling, #4 in the Lady Julia Grey series. So love being back in this series! And I organized my Goodreads shelves. As I noted on Twitter recently, advice to new Goodreads users: set up your shelves early in the game. Don't put all your books onto the same massive shelf like I did. Come be my Goodreads friend here!

Our storage room in the basement. We were talking about putting up some more of our pictures. Unfortunately, no home decoration bargaining chip is large enough for Mr. Crane to accept the having Little CJ (my childhood portrait painted by an elderly aunt) or the unicorn and unicorn baby pic up on a wall, and I no longer have my own office to hang them in. I have vetoed plenty of his pictures, so it's only fair. 

So I was looking at my poor pictures in the storage room this weekend. It is very sad. Also, one wonders what the neighbors think when they walk by.

Somehow, though, I hold out hope that Mr. Crane will suddenly change his mind. Perhaps some mysterious force will compel him to go down to the storage room and get Little CJ and put her back up. What do you think?

So what did you guys do this weekend? What are you reading?

Craft nosiness, ape-men, scaffolding, and digging up corpses

DNFs

I DNFed a book last night, but I will still read it, though I quietly took it off my Goodreads shelf. This is a really popular historical romance, and I have loved others written by this author (and that's all I'll say, so don't ask, my friends!) But in my mind, this one of hers went all wrong - for me, anyway (and if it went wrong for me, it went wrong, since I can only read and write for my tastes). Anyway, it felt paint-by numbers, as though the life didn't spark. I've read books that have the same general set-up, some I've loved to death, but this one fell.

What makes one book work and one book not work, especially when they are similar?  What makes a book a living thing? I think there is a kind of magic in the best books, but there's more than that.

So I'm going to keep reading this DNF - I'll F it for the same reason people in the middle ages dug up graveyards and cut apart dead bodies--out of a keen desire to know what the heck went wrong!

It will also show me what went right with the books of this author that I have loved and embraced. I think sometimes good writers get under pressure to produce too fast, and my favorite writers take risks sometimes too - ones that don't work out - but that spirit of risking is what make them good, and I always look.

It's a kind of nosiness, I suppose. And hell, maybe I'll come to like the latter part of this book better, and I'll get the writerly learning experience along with some readerly pleasure. Maybe the book will spring up and run around and be okay. It will still show me something. Do other authors do that? Read for what went wrong? I guess I assume so. Maybe not!

Awesome Armstrong in a
minimalistic mood.

The less popular series: hidden dimensions
Another thing I enjoy, which is kind of along the same writerly nosiness lines, is that I look at the less popular series of authors I love, because sometimes those books show me how they pull things off in a more plain and straightforward way than than their popular series do.

For example, Kelley Armstrong's wonderful hitwoman series - the Nadia Stafford Series (an awesome series that I'm dying for her to continue beyond two books) - gave me a lot of insights into how she differentiates characters with language. It's almost like  you can see the scaffolding of her character magic; part of this, I think, is because the hitwoman books are quite simple and minimalistic, and about humans, too.

Same thing with Charlaine Harris' less popular series, the Grave Series (reputed to be the author's favorite of her series, and it's certainly my favorite of all her series).

The other Bon Temps

These books gave me a strong sense of the underdog and embattled character themes that are present on a more subtle level in her Sookie series. It is also interesting to get this dimension on small towns from Harris; it's as if the Grave series is the small town dark side of Bon Temps. The Grave series is far riskier, and the hero is a total beta. Is that why it didn't fly like Sookie?

Anyway, an author's body of work shows me things about individual work. What I mean is that the Grave Series shows me things about the Sookie Series that would not be revealed in the Sookie Series alone. This small town bit, for instance. Oh, wow, have people fallen asleep yet? Is anybody reading this sentence? Do you ever feel like that on blog posts? ahem, back on topic!

Hello ape man?

The first books: ape men
This week I finished Dreams of a Dark Warrior by one of my top favorite authors, Kresley Cole, and I then did something I've been meaning to do forever: I ordered Kresley Cole's McCarrick brothers series.

After that, I'll read her Pirate series. You can't imagine how excited I am to read them. I've noticed that in early books, authors can sometimes be viewed trying out themes and exploring techniques that they later perfect and smooth out.

I'm sure I'll enjoy both these series - it's unimaginable to me I wouldn't enjoy something Cole writes, but will reading her early stuff be like the missing link? The ape-man version of what is today her very highly-evolved writerly wonderfulness? Let's hope! I am nosy that way!

Stiltwalker image: Masquerade on the pumpkin festival (Festa della Zucca) in Verzone, province of Udine, region Fruili-Venezia Giulia, Italy by Johann Jaritz

Title news & guest post/giveaway scoop!

Head Rush. Game on! 

Hey everybody! First, thanks so much to everyone who stopped by my title poll. It was fun and also really helpful to get your input. I was torn between HEAD RUSH and PSYCH OUT, and it was heartening to see that both seemed to work for most people, and that they were basically a tie. It showed me they are both strong good titles. (And, good also, to have THE ART OF FEAR put to rest so decidedly.)

Anyway, the title is going to be HEAD RUSH. (Which I understand was originally the brainchild of Amy Boggs - @notjustanyboggs -  baby agent at Donald Maass, during a brainstorming session there. Thanks, Amy!) I'm really happy about it.

A title is a collaboration between the author, editor, agent, and others, and it helped to have a reader perspective. Soon, I hope, there will be a cover. I've seen some gorgeous covers coming out of Samhain lately.

The book: my personal Rorschach Ink blot.

Is the book good, or does it suck? 

An author goes through phases about books (or at least I do). There will be weeks where I'll love a book that I've written and think it's so great, and then I'll hate it and think it's terrible, the worst dreck on earth, and then I go back to thinking it's wonderful, the best thing I've ever written, and then back to terrible, what schlock!

All the while, the book pretty much doesn't change. Clearly my different perceptions mean more about me than the book. Like an ink blot.

Anyway, I'm on the upside of that right now with Head Rush (the  book itself, not the title). Loving it! So excited! Joyous. That will change and I will get all critical about it, but what the heck, it feels good for now. Also, I noticed on Goodreads, it has the highest rating of all my books so far, even though it has not yet been released in any form whatsoever. LOL. Goodreads and I are both on the upswing about it in a conceptual way.

Release info

Come stop by Stella's. We're all about
the pleasures of novellas today! 

So, HEAD RUSH will release as an audio book from audible.com (also Amazon.com, the itunes store and possibly elsewhere--must investigate) in early November (all  3 books come out at once in audio). It will release as an ebook on December 6th (available where ebooks are typically sold - Amazon, B&N, ARE, Sony Reader store, etc. as well as Samhain) and as print in 2012 at some point, available from the usual sites and some bookstores)
I have posted about audiobooks on my website. Thanks so much to Liza (@mslizalou) and Melissa (@MelLhay) for questions that led me to this post.

GUEST POST/GIVEAWAY SCOOP:
 Realizations of a former short story and novella avoider...post, discussion, and giveaway at Stella's! 
Today I'm over at Stella Ex Libris, with a post about my reformed ways as a reader and writer of shorter fiction, and novellas in general. I'm also giving away a copy of Wild & Steamy to one lucky commenter.

Come vent or gush about short fiction, just say hi, and maybe win! 

What does this writerly screed have to do with my grandmother's notebook?

I’ve been carrying around this old notebook of my grandmother’s forever—it's sat in the bottom of a bookshelf in every place I live. It was entirely blank and unused, aside from one page of something random (and the front, where she wrote her name and ‘knitting book.’) Isn’t it cool? So cool, that I felt like I needed to wait and find a really important use for it.

 So, I didn’t write in it for years, waiting for the exact perfect use for it. Something monumental. And of course I simply never used it.

 There is this bad habit writers can get into, or at least, I can get into, which I think of as ‘scarcity thinking’ which is where I’ll think of an awesome event or realization or twist, and I think, I need to hold that for the pinnacle of the book.

 Whenever I find myself thinking that I need to keep something to spring later, I try to do the opposite — I make myself blow the cool idea early in the book.

 It’s because I have this writerly superstition that holding things back for the right time implies that there aren’t millions more cool ideas, and I think it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy—that is, waiting to use the good stuff makes the good stuff scarce. Holding back the candy makes it so that I have less candy, whereas if I spill all my candy right away, more will be there waiting for me later. That's the superstition I have, but I really think that's how it works.

 There is another form of it where I’ll hold off on getting my characters in worst-case-scenario trouble until later. I think that’s really bad for a story to let worst case scenarios hang out there forever. When I find myself doing that, I’ll try and spill that candy, pull that trigger, push the nuclear option button.

I'm not successful at it yet. It's a discipline I'm working on. Striving. You know how it is.

Have you ever watched the Sopranos? It’s this whole drama about Tony Soprano, the mafia boss. Not to criticize it, I mean, it was an excellent, bold, groundbreaking show, and I couldn’t have written it better. But, my husband and I would get so frustrated because they kept almost getting Tony in trouble, and then withdrawing the trouble. He never got arrested, convicted, toppled by another Mafia boss, nothing. They kept the Sword of Damocles suspended over his head—season after season after season, just wiggling around now and then. And I think that’s why the show got stale.

The opposite is Joss Whedon, who’s perfectly willing to go there, wherever there happens to be. Joss is a total hero to many writers, including me, and I think a lot of it, for me anyway, is his abundance thinking, which is the opposite of scarcity thinking. He’ll kill characters (sometimes twice) let people radically transform, even plunge the planet into apocalyptic chaos. He doesn’t hold back on going to the ultimate place. He’ll go there - it’s as if he knows that when he comes out the other end, there will be a new ultimate place to go.

Actually, Kresley Cole does that really beautifully, too, in a different way. She lets things get big and crazy and terrible and spills candy all over the place. Sometimes, I look at the events in just one of her chapters, and in other hands, I could see it filling a whole book. I think she is amazing.

So this is a big thing for me that I’m always working on, to get away from scarcity thinking, and always looking to my favorite writers for their example of it. Like, what would Joss or Kresley do?

I was thinking about it this past winter, and thinking about other places in my life where I do that.

I have favorite clothes that are so favorite that I coddle them and, I limit how much I’ll wear them, like they’re too precious. Why do I do that? I actually have another grandmother thing—these little Christmas candles from the 40’s that I never burn. Sometimes at Christmas I take them out but they get dusty if you leave them out too long. But I think I’m going to burn them this Christmas!

And this notebook of my grandmother’s, of course. So I thought, no more scarcity thinking with that notebook! I’m going to use it. I decided to use it for brainstorming notes on short stories and novellas. And it’s been really great, because the thing is in use, laying all over my office, in the living room, wherever. I look at it 1,000,000% more this year than my whole life combined. I’ll eventually fill its pages but why not? It's there to be used. So, that's my big thing.

So do you do that scarcity thing, too? Or do you have the opposite problem?

Images: Sword of Damocles by Richard Westall; Jelly Babies by Father Jack

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!