Fang-filled Interview and giveaway at Vampire Wire

The wonderful Marta Acosta persuaded me to answer all sorts of revealing questions has interviewed me for Vampire Wire. Go here and 'read all about it', and leave a comment for me, or a comment telling us about something magical you like or liked as a kid, to win one of my books*.

Marta is the author of the fang-tastic Casa Dracula series and her fourth, and very sadly, last book in the series, Haunted Honeymoon, is out later this month! And while you're over there, don't forget to scroll down to find out how you can win an ARC of Haunted Honeymoon.

Then there's Marta's GRATUITOUS VIDEOS OF THE DAY featuring my favs Gerard Butler and Alexander Skarsgård *fans herself*, with the fun bonus of Alan Rickman as Snape! Yay! Thank you, Marta!

Vampire Book Club have a poll up for their September group read, and yep, you've guessed it (as if the clue below wasn't big enough *g*!) The Sweet Scent of Blood is one of the possible reads ... Now its got some stiff competition, but hey, if you all go over and vote for me, it could be in with a chance *Bats eyelashes and says, pretty please* :-)

:: Please vote for me! :: Please vote for me! :: Please vote for me! ::

*Winner's choice (includes an ARC of The Bitter Seed of Magic when available). Giveaway is open until September 11, 2010, and is international. See Marta's post for full details.

Happy US Book Birthday to Mike Shevdon - Sixty-One Nails

Sixty-One Nails by Mike Shevdon is set in London (Covent Garden, no less!) and has faeries*!

  

This great book is released in the US today, and for all my friends over the other side of the pond, it's a fantastic read!!  Mike takes the real place, a real ceremony and builds a wonderful, interesting and believable urban fairy story that is a real pleasure to read. But don't take my word for it ...

"Sixty-One Nails is Neverwhere for the next generation. The pacing is spot-on, the characters engaging, and the world fits together beautifully to create a London that ought to be. I stayed up too late finishing it." - C.E. Murphy

"Mike Shevdon strikes sparks from the flinty core of English folklore, as a hero every reader can relate to finds he's part of an incredible and scarily believable parallel realm. If you've been thinking urban fantasy has nothing fresh to offer, think again." - Juliet E. McKenna

"This book is magnificent in every way. Sixty-One Nails is a novel I will remember for a very long time. 5*****" - ScienceFictionandFantasy.co.uk

"I would recommend this book to anyone who wishes for something different in the urban fantasy genre." - Fantasy Book Critic

THERE IS A SECRET WAR GROWING BENEATH THE STREETS OF LONDON.

A dark magic will be unleashed by the Untainted...Unless a new hero can be found. The smarter, faster brother to Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere has arrived.

The immense Sixty-One Nails (UK) follows Niall Petersen, victim of a suspected heart attack on the London Underground, into the hidden world of the Feyre, an uncanny place of legend that lurks just beyond the surface of everyday life. The Untainted, the darkest of the Seven Courts, have made their play for power, and unless Niall can recreate the ritual of the Sixty-One Nails, their dark dominion will enslave all of the Feyre, and all of humankind too.

Mike's second book The Road to Bedlam is out tomorrow in the UK, and in the US on October 26 2010

The Road to Bedlam: "There's been an accident. It's your daughter." But Alex isn't dead. She's been snatched because she came into her magical power early. Her father, Niall Petersen, must use his own wayward magic to track her down and save her from the madness of Bedlam.

* Yes, we're friends, but no, we didn't copy each other! LOL!  London and faeries! What more could you want? (oh, well, maybe vampires ... Mike doesn't have too many of those. *g*)  

Picture - (c) Mark Cator from Keepers of the Kingdom: The Ancient Offices of Britain

Frequently Asked Questions?

I've been updating my website - specifically the FAQ page (the 'coming soon ...' had been there for a while LOL!).

So now I have questions for you, Dear Readers:

Do you have any questions* for me, either ones you've thought of frequently, or maybe not so frequently (much more likely *g*)?

Then ask away below, and I shall answer, either here, or on my FAQ page.

Is there something you'd like to see on my website that isn't there?

Then leave me a comment, and if it's possible I will try and make it happen.

Or if you're shy/or a lurker like me, you can send me your thoughts from here :-)

*This is for questions for the FAQ page, not for questions about the plotlines or characters in the books, so no spoilers please :-)

Goodreads Giveaway - The Sweet Scent of Blood

Goodreads Book Giveaway

The Sweet Scent of Blood

by Suzanne McLeod

Giveaway ends September 18, 2010.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter to win

A small cookie

A Friday afternoon snippet. Enjoy . . .

She was still asleep, still smiling blissfully, and her roots were still digging into my wooden floorboards, but the blood was gone. The buds on her fingers and scalp had grown into long, delicate branches covered with pink and white cherry blossom, and their subtle fragrance filled the room with the scent of springtime. As I stood there, she made a small sound, a sort of hiccoughing snore, and the flowers shivered. A mini-snowfall of petals drifted down to decorate her rooted feet.

She was fine – out of it, but fine.

I smiled, my anxiety gone. I didn’t care about the holes in my floor; she was far too pretty and she looked way too happy for them to matter.

Hope you all have a great weekend :-)

Book Treats

Sticking my head out of the Writing Cave here. I sent off the short story I finally finished tweaking today, so I decided to celebrate and treated myself to . . . some books, of course *g*

Waking the Witch: Kelley Armstrong. I love all of Kelley's books, but this is Savannah's story, and I'm very eager to read it, I think she might be one of my fav characters of Kelley's. My only :-( is that I prefer the US cover to the UK one, but ...
Tracking the Tempest: Nicole Peeler. I so enjoyed Jane's first adventure, it had so many great characters, but there was one in particular that intrigued me so I'm hoping to find out more about him in this one *g*.
Total Eclipse: Rachel Caine. Rachel's Weather Warden books are my comfort reads, and I probably re-read them at least once a year. I think this is the last book from Joanne's pov, so I'm sad about that, but I know it will be brilliant. And - David . . . *fans herself*
Unholy Ghosts: Stacia Kane. I love Stacia and her Megan Chase books, and I've been looking forward to reading about Chess and Terrible ever since Staica first mentioned them on her blog (when she first sold the books). I know this one's going to be fantastic.
Death's Excellent Vacation: Charlaine Harris et all. Short stories by lots of my fav authors - including a new Sookie one! - what could be better, other than a vacation to read it on :-)
As Lie The Dead: Kelly Meding. I thoroughly enjoyed Three Days to Dead, and thought it a great premise, and a great world (loved the gargolye) so I'm interested to see how things go for Evy.

Has anyone else treated themselves to any good books recently?

Ok, back to the Writing Cave now, and sorry no links as this is just a fly-by post. But all the books can be found on any of the online book sites :-)