'Danke' to the Germans and a fangy short story

I'm delighted to announce that Goldmann, my German publishers, have bought and are going to be publishing The Bitter Seed of Magic - Spellcrackers.com #3! I don't know the date yet, but as soon as I do, I'll post an update on my website. A big, big thank you to Goldmann, and to John Jarrold, my agent and the wonderful rights team at Orion/Gollancz for making this happen. *does the German happy dance*.

And now for the short story ...

... and no, it's not one of mine, but a very cool tale from writer Julie Campbell.

Julie's story is called The Vampire Kissed and the Eye and you can read it here in a flash fiction contest on Devin O'Branagan's website. And when you've read it, (and I can tell you, you're gonna want to!!) show Julie and her very cool story some fangy love and VOTE for it too!!

Here's a clue ...

Voting is open through tomorrow, and Julie's just one vote behind right now. So. Go. Read. And. Vote!!

Or, as Julie says on her LJ, 'you could head over to vampirekissed.com and read the stories posted in the forum and vote for which ever one you think is best. That's fair too :)'

Happy Book Birthday - Marta Acosta : Haunted Honeymoon

Happy Book Birthday

Marta Acosta* : Haunted Honeymoon

 Yay! Milagro comes to London!! 

THERE’S MORE THAN HER HEART AT STAKE. . . .As the only human to survive vampire infection, Milagro de Los Santos has become quite a celebrity among the blood-drinking elite. Too bad the perks of her condition—increased strength, super-fast healing—don’t pay her condo fees. There are other complications too. She’s feeling guilty about her fling with enigmatic Vampire Council member Ian Ducharme, and pining for her ex-fiancé, Dr. Oswald Grant . . . the fabulous man whose kiss changed her life. It’s when Milagro—irked by Ian’s attentions to his neighbor—travels to London and enjoys a sexy flirtation of her own, that the blood really hits the fan. Suddenly, those around her are dying gruesome deaths and Milagro’s being interrogated. Who would kill to set her up as a murder suspect? Milagro just wants to turn back the clock and have another chance to make things right, but no sooner has she escaped to Oswald’s ranch than an accident obliterates her memory. Will the murderer come after her now? And will amnesia spark a romantic do-over with Oswald—or will she make all the same mistakes before she ever gets to say "I do"?

*Don't forget to head on over to Marta's Vampire Wire and vote in the Hawt Vampire Poll and contest

Join the Spellcrackers Clan!

I now have a StreetTeam/Newsletter group, so why not come and join the Spellcrackers Clan! Click on the Clan Badge below for details!

or follow this link:
http://www.spellcrackers.com/join_the_spellcrackers_clan.html

Friday Five

Aviator - David Goode

From David Bridger 

Breakfast

Aspect of autumn

RomCom

Sculptor

Dangerous wild animal
~
Scott's porrige oats (old fashioned) made traditionally with water and salt (no milk or sugar), lemon and ginger tea, orange juice.

Bonfires

Sleepless in Seattle

David Goode

Tiger

Glimpses: A collection of Nightrunner short stories - Giveaway

A Collection of Nightrunner Short Stories

Authored by Lynn Flewelling
Illustrated by Nightrunner Fans*
Introduction by Laura Anne Gilman
Cover design or artwork by Anne Cain
Edited by Reece Notley


Lynn Flewelling's Glimpses explores "lost" moments from her popular Nightrunner Series, events alluded to or passed over - Alec's parents and childhood, Seregil's early liaisons in Skala, Seregil and Alec's first night as lovers, how Seregil and Micum Cavish met and an excerpt from the next Nightrunner book due out in 2011.

Each story offers a new perspective on events readers have speculated about for years. For new readers, it offers an introduction to the characters Romantic Times calls "two of the most memorable heroes in fantasy."

Professional and amateur art provided by Flewelling's fans accompany Glimpses' stories, as she honors the dedication and devotion her fans have given her over the years.

~~~

Yay! I've was utterly thrilled to be able to read this early, and this is what I thought ...

‘Glimpses’ is full of treasures like Lynn Flewelling’s deceptively easy and addictive storytelling, her vivid and engaging characters, and the amazing and heartfelt illustrations. I found it fascinating to see a younger, less outwardly confident Seregil in both ‘Misfit’ and ‘By the River’, and then to meet him in his much more worldly persona in the snippet of ‘The Summer Players*’, the next Nightrunner novel. ‘The Wild’ is a poignant, brutal and uplifting tale of Alec’s parents and his early childhood. While the deepening of Seregil and Alec’s relationship in ‘The Bond’ is beautifully handled and is as emotionally satisfying for the reader as it is for the two friends and lovers. This book is a must have for fans of Lynn’s Nightrunner books, and if you haven’t started the series yet, then ‘Glimpses’ will leave you eager to discover more about Seregil and Alec, their adventures and the unique and fantastical world that the pair inhabit. 

*working title

Go buy this brilliant book here ...

smashwords for ebook
createspace for print book
at amazon.com


Want to win a copy of Glimpses??

Then leave me a comment telling me your favourite traditional fantasy book/series (excluding any by Lynn to make it more interesting *g*). One of my all time favs is Patricia Briggs' Hurog duology *I <3 dragons!*


Contest open internationally anywhere that The Book Depository delivers (Glimpses is not currently listed there, but I'm told it will be :-))
Contest closes midnight 30th September 2010 (GMT time)
Extra entry if you help spread the word and post about it on your blog (with pics, please - that beautiful cover deserves to be seen!) and leave the link to your actual post in a comment on this post.
Winner will be chosen by Random.org and posted on blog.
Remember to check back!

*Including a fantastic picture by the wonderful Dragonladych - don't forget you can win her gorgeous Dragon picture here!

Note: Glimpses contains scenes of m/m sex and m/f sex  - read Lynn blogging about how Sex is Hard here *g*

Want to win a fabulous Dragon??

Want to win this beautiful, original artwork by the very talented Dragonladych? Head over here: http://memoriesinmusic.com/contest.html and enter the contest. It's only £1.25 to enter! All profits made will go to Macmillan Cancer Support so it's a good cause.

see the full story here on Dragonladych's LiveJournal

And as Dragonladych says, please, post about this if you can - the more entries, the more money will be raised! Thank you very much in advance! The contest ends 17 October, 2010.

Happy Book Birthday to Jaine Fenn - Guardians of Paradise

Jaine Fenn :: Guardians of Paradise

Most people believe the Sidhe are long dead, exterminated centuries ago when the males of the race rose up and fought alongside the humans subjugated and enslaved by the female Sidhe. But Jarek Reen knows better: he's discovered, the painful way, that the Sidhe are alive and well, and still screwing over humanity. They've already killed his sister, so he's not surprised when he discovers an old friend and her partner are next on the Sidhe's hitlist. He helps not only to foil the assassination attempt, but also to muddy the scene of the crime, leaving the Angels Nual and Taro sanMalia presumed dead - and free to join his crusade to expose the insidious influence of the Sidhe, and their evil plans to enslave the human race again. Their mission takes them across human-space, from utilitarian hub-points to rich, exotic planets - where they discover that a brilliant vacation spot hides some of the darkest secrets of all. And that's when they discover how easy it is for the hunters to become the hunted . . .

I *LOVED* Jaine's first two books* Principles of Angels* and Consorts of Heaven, and I know Gaurdians of Pardise is going to be fantastic! And I'm not the only one who thinks so ...

"After a solid debut with Principles of Angels, Fenn's second offering is altogether stranger and more ambitious. A beautifully paced quest, a novel that doles out its revelations slowly yet confidently. The characters are well-drawn and believable. There's more than enough here to suggest that British SF has a major new talent in its midst." (Jonathan Wright SFX )

Happy Book Birthday, Jaine!!

*Ok, I sort of had to read the first since we share an editor at Gollancz (*g*), and I thought it only polite, though at the time I didn't know Jaine and I don't always connect with Sci-Fi books (my fault, not the books, it's just not my preferred genre). But Jaine really sucked me in with her worldbuilding, her characters and her storytelling, despite the fact that I like my sidhe to be, y'know, like my sidhe (faeires rather than powerful alien types, and there are *no* vampires in her books! *g*). 

Then I got to know Jaine and she's become a great friend, but don't let that, or the lack of vampires put you off reading her books. Her first is great, and her second really impressed me (I could tell you so much to love about it, and about the characters and their relationships, but that would be spoiling it :-D). She's a brilliant writer, and I can't wait to see what she's done with her third. I know it's going to be as fabulous, if not more so, than the first two :-).