Giveaways: Ghost Story - Jim Butcher + Hounded - Kevin Hearne

ETA: I'm donating to Genre for Japan - a critique and a Tuckerization in my next book.

Please help spread the word about Genre for Japan, (also see my post here) and also this giveaway. For every commentator in this post's giveaway I'll donate a £1, up to a max of 100 commentators. (Currently: 30 commentators approx, so there's plenty room for more comments :-D). So read on, and enter, if you haven't already, and your comment will mean another £1 for Japan, and don't forget to help spread the word. Thank you!

So, we've got to week # 10 of my 16 weeks of giveaways to celebrate the UK release of book 3 The Bitter Seed of Magic (Out Now! And BIG THANKS to everyone who's bought it! You all Rock!) and the upcoming US release of book 2  The Cold Kiss of Death (out 26th April). Thanks to everyone who's following along with the celebrations, and Hello and Welcome to any new blog visitors.

So this week, going by the schedule, the giveaway is Ghost Story (Dresden Files, No. 13)by Jim Butcher! Only the publication has been put back to July 26th, so as an extra special giveaway, there will be two prizes* this week: Ghost Story, and Hounded (US)(UK) the first fabulous book in The Iron Druid Chronicles by debut author Kevin Hearne.

And the good news doesn't stop there!

*Cue Drumroll*

So, especially for all my wonderful blog readers, I managed to back Kevin into a corner and crack the whip persuade Kevin to come over and guest blog *g*. So, a big WELCOME to Kevin, and here he is to tell us all about . . .

The Alpha Reader!

I often hear writers talk about their beta readers quite a bit, but rarely do I hear them discuss their alpha readers. I think perhaps they’re keeping them a secret. Or perhaps they don’t have one. More likely, they do have one but they call them beta readers anyway.

For me, alpha and beta readers serve completely different functions. Alpha readers read my stuff chapter by chapter, providing feedback as the novel is in progress. Beta readers read the whole honkin’ thing as a completed draft and then give me some feedback before I pack it away to my agent.

It’s tremendously difficult to find alpha readers and hold on to ’em. Most people aren’t that great at reading a story in spastic intervals and then providing a thoughtful critique for the anxious author in a short amount of time. I have had the same alpha reader for years now, and he’s worth fifty times his weight in black gold (that’s Guinness, not oil). His name is Alan, and I thank him in the acknowledgments of all three books. Though he doesn’t know it—and you can’t tell him!—he’s going to get a book dedicated to him soon.

What makes a good alpha reader? Someone who’s really well-read in the genre you’re writing, who’s an honest fan of that genre, and who’s also capable of telling you what’s fresh and what might have the odor of shoes in dire need of fungicide. They also need to be willing to work really bizarre hours for nothing more than the occasional beer. Such people are RARE. And priceless.

I had to write three books before the general public read a word of any of them, and I’m here to tell you that’s it’s bloody nervewracking. If people don’t like the first one, it’s not like I can go back and tweak books two and three now. Alan stood in for all of you, assuring me that I was doing all right and making me start over when I wasn’t doing all right. He’s a true Quality Control man, and plenty of authors know they wouldn’t have written nearly so well without someone like him watching over their shoulders. If you have a pint, raise it to Alan, won’t you? And then if you’re in a bookstore around May 3, pick up a copy of Hounded #1 (US)(UK) and see how Alan did! If you turn into a fan of Alan’s alpha reading there, wait until you see what advice he gave on Hexed #2 (US)(UK), due June 7, and then on Hammered #3 (US)(UK), out June 28!

In the meantime, I hope you’ll come visit my website and blog (http://www.kevinhearne.com) and maybe say howdy on Twitter (@kevinhearne) or Facebook (search Pages for Kevin Hearne). Thanks very much to Suzanne for letting me drop by! Cheers!

Great post, Kevin! Thanks so much for visiting, and thanks to Alan too! Can't wait to read Hounded!

Here's the blurb for Hounded!

Atticus O’Sullivan, last of the Druids, lives peacefully in Arizona, running an occult bookshop and shape-shifting in his spare time to hunt with his Irish wolfhound. His neighbors and customers think that this handsome, tattooed Irish dude is about twenty-one years old—when in actuality, he’s twenty-one centuries old. Not to mention: He draws his power from the earth, possesses a sharp wit, and wields an even sharper magical sword known as Fragarach, the Answerer.

Unfortunately, a very angry Celtic god wants that sword, and he’s hounded Atticus for centuries. Now the determined deity has tracked him down, and Atticus will need all his power—plus the help of a seductive goddess of death, his vampire and werewolf team of attorneys, a sexy bartender possessed by a Hindu witch, and some good old-fashioned luck of the Irish—to kick some Celtic arse and deliver himself from evil.

Doesn't it sound fab? I can't wait to read it! And if you want a chance to win both Hounded and Ghost Story, then leave a comment telling me whether you've tried 'The Black Stuff' or not, and if you liked it :-D Me? Well, yes, I've tried it, and liked it, but it's one of those tipples I need to be in the mood for :-)

How to enter:

Leave a comment saying whether you've tried Guinness, and if you liked it or not.

Please leave a way to contact you (email in comment: Please remember to replace @ with [at] to forestall spam - or your twitter name - no way to contact you - no entry).

Giveaway is international and closes end of day (GMT time) 24th March 2011
(ETA: original end date  was wrong initially - so much for being organized *sigh*)

Full General Terms and Rules at the bottom of this post here.

And don't forget to check out the Giveaway Schedule here. And so you don't miss out on a chance of winning any of the wonderful books in the coming weeks, why not follow me? (following is not a condition of entry).

Please note: My usual blog policy is that I try to reply to all comments on the blog, but for ease of admin I won't be replying to any comments made on any of the giveaway posts during the 16 weeks. Sorry, but it makes it much harder to sort out the winner. However I do read and enjoy all the comments, and will, of course, continue to reply to comments on any other post, so if you have a question for me, leave it on one of those, thank you :-)

All book links lead to Amazon (UK/US) or the Book Depository, and contain affiliate links. I've decided to go affiliate as I love giving books away (and not just as a way of shameless self-promo), but boy does it get expensive.

x/posted to LJ. Comment here or there. One entry per person.

*Both books will be pre-ordered for the winner from The Book Depository, and will be sent when the books release. Sorry, these are not early copies, much as I'd love them to be.