Suzanne McLeod: April 2011

Weddings + Apples + Magic Slays - Ilona Andrews! (giveaway)

Giveaway now closed! Winner will be announced soon . . .

The Cold Kiss of Death is out now in the US (Thanks to everyone who's bought it! You Rock!) and in the UK now, and The Bitter Seed of Magic is out now in the UK (December 27 in the US). So, this is the last of my 16 weeks of celebratory giveaways, and this week's is a book I'm really looking forward to get my sticky little reading hands on. *g*

*Cue Drumroll*

Magic Weds, err, sorry, Slays (Kate Daniels, Book 5) UK by Ilona Andrews!

Blurb from Amazon:

Kate Daniels has quit the Order of Merciful Aid, but starting her own business isn't easy when the Order starts disparaging her good name. And being the mate of the Beast Lord doesn't bring in the customers, either. So when Atlanta's premier Master of the Dead asks for help with a vampire, Kate jumps at the chance. Unfortunately, this is one case where Kate should have looked before she leapt.

Ooooooh!! *WANTS* :-D

So what do you have to do to be in with a chance of winning Magic Slays (or your choice of an earlier book in the series)? Well since Kate and Curran got together in Magic Bleeds, and today saw another Kate marry her Prince . . . (not that I'm suggesting there will be a wedding in Magic Slays . . . but who knows!!! *g*) leave me a comment telling me something you enjoy about weddings. Me, I always look forward to seeing the cake cut, and raising a glass of bubbly to wish the happy couple well!

Many congratulations to the Royal Couple!

I wish them a long, happy, loving and healthy life together!

How to enter:

Leave a comment about something you enjoy at weddings.

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) 9th May 2011.

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

You can get an extra entry by tweeting about the giveaway. Leave the link to the tweet as an extra comment.

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 :-)

Winner: Tangled Threads - Jennifer Estep

Thanks to everyone who left comments about their phobias - a lot of you share mine *shudders*.

And now for the winner of Tangled Threads (Elemental Assassin, Book 4) by Jennifer Estep!

Random.org has spoken . . .

and the winner is

jeanette8042

Who said...

I have a phobia of bugs because they're just so creepy to me.

Congratulations Jeanette8042! An email is on its way to you!

Thanks again to everyone for entering! This week's giveaway will go live soon!

Six Things Make a Post!

So the US edition of The Cold Kiss of Death released yesterday! Yay! And there's a couple of places below where you could win a copy - and even if you've already read it (Thank you!), then why not enter anyway . . . you could always gift the book to friend if you win! (Books are always my favourite gifts, along with chocolate, of course *g*)

1. I'm interviewed at The Qwillery - head on over to find out about my strange writing quirks (involves hopping!) + there's a giveaway for one lucky commentator for The Sweet Scent of Bloodand The Cold Kiss of Death. (Int. Ends May 4). The Qwillery also reviewed The Cold Kiss of Death here (She liked it! Woot! *g*)

2. The wonderful Mardel over at Rabid Reader is holding a Book Birthday giveaway for winner's choice of The Sweet Scent of Blood or The Cold Kiss of Death. (Int. Ends May 6)

3. I had a brilliant, albeit short time* at Eastercon over the weekend! It was great to see old, and new friends, and meet some fab folk in RL that I've only e-met before. Sadly, because of my short time there, I missed meeting up with lots more folk, and only managed to get to one panel (Combative women in SF & F - which I thoroughly enjoyed). So I now have a plan for next year to make sure I go for longer!

My reading* went well (in spite of me never having read to anyone other than my crit group before). I read about half of 'Full-Scale Demolition' which is the prequel Spellcrackers short story that will be in the Home Improvement: Undead Editionanthology out in August.I think I only fluffed it a couple of times! Sorry, folks! And our audience were kind enough to applaud! Thank you to all who were there :-). I read with Dan Abnett (who writes some very cool, and funny science fiction). There's another pic of me over at Warpcoresf.

picture courtesy of Amanda at Floor to Ceiling Books

4. Is a reminder for the week's celebratory giveaway for Jennifer Estep's Tangled Threads (or winner's choice of an earlier book in her series). You can enter here until midnight (GMT) April 28.(Int.)

5. There's the bonus giveaway for the first six peeps in the US to send me pictures of The Cold Kiss of Death on an actual shelf, in an actual book store in the US! I'll send them each 6 Spellcrackers Bling Pencils (one of each colour available - and yes they are sparkly Swarovski Crystals on the ends!). Email your pics to contest at spellcrackers dot com (remembering to replace 'at' and 'dot' with @ and . :-)), with Spellcrackers Pencil Contest in the subject line. And don't forget to tell me which city the store is in, please. *curious*

6. And there's yet another chance to win a copy of The Cold Kiss of Death (or choice of lots of other cool books!) over at Preternatura (Suzanne Johnson's blog) in her New Releases post . (Int. Ends April 29)

*Yep, I know the post is short too; as I'm in Deadline Hell. Sorry!
*Apologies for forgetting the mini eggs and liquorice torpedoes :-(
*The pics are inspiring me to do the diet and exercise thing. Sitting around and hitting the keyboard is just not conducive to keeping the pounds off. And no, I don't need to be all sylph-like, but I really do need to fit into, and feel more comfortable, in my clothes.*sigh*

Bittersüße Nacht - cover!

Here's the German cover for Bittersüße Nacht

(translates as Bitter Sweet Night aka The Bitter Seed of Magic # 3!)

OMG!! Just GORGEOUS! & WOW!!!

Thank you, Goldmann!


Out 16th January 2012

Don't forget to enter this week's celebratory giveaway for

Jennifer Estep's Tangled Threads

+ there's an extra giveaway for
Spellcrackers Bling Pencils
if you
Paparazzi my book in the US

Paparazzi my book! + Tangled Threads - Jennifer Estep (giveaway)

So this week's giveaway post is going to be a shortie! I'm off to Eastercon (scroll down for my schedule) and have a ton of things to do, not least of which is the dreaded ironing, and getting my fringe(aka bangs in the US) trimmed*, since it seems to have grown an inch overnight!

I've heard that The Cold Kiss of Death (out April 26 US - only 4 days to go!!! Yay!!) might actually be out in some book stores now! Now there's nothing like seeing a book you've written in an actual book store! Much Happy Dancing and book rearranging ensues (and then the store assistants start to look askance, and ultimately ask you to leave - not that it's ever happened to me *looks innocent*). But as I live in the UK I can't check out any US stores :-(

So here's a bonus giveaway for peeps in the US. I'll send Spellcrackers Bling Pencils (one of each colour available - 6 - click to embiggen - and yes they are sparkly Swarovski Crystals on the ends!) to the first six folk to send me pictures of The Cold Kiss of Death on an actual shelf, in an actual book store in the US. Email your pics to contest at spellcrackers dot com (remembering to replace 'at' and 'dot' with @ and . :-)), with Spellcrackers Pencil Contest in the subject line. And don't forget to tell me which city the store is in, please. *curious*

So, onto this week's celebratory giveaway which is for Tangled Threads (Elemental Assassin, Book 4) by Jennifer Estep which releases April 26 in the US and the UK.

Here's the blurb from Amazon:

I’d rather face a dozen lethal assassins any night than deal with something as tricky, convoluted, and fragile as my feelings.

But here I am. Gin Blanco, the semi-retired assassin known as the Spider. Hovering outside sexy businessman Owen Grayson’s front door like a nervous teenage girl. One thing I like about Owen: he doesn’t shy away from my past—or my present. And right now I have a bull’s-eye on my forehead. Cold-blooded Fire elemental Mab Monroe has hired one of the smartest assassins in the business to trap me. Elektra LaFleur is skilled and efficient, with deadly electrical elemental magic as potent as my own Ice and Stone powers. Which means there’s a fifty-fifty chance one of us won’t survive this battle. I intend to kill LaFleur—or die trying—because Mab wants the assassin to take out my baby sister, Detective Bria Coolidge, too. The only problem is, Bria has no idea I’m her long-lost sibling . . . or that I’m the murderer she’s been chasing through Ashland for weeks. And what Bria doesn’t know just might get us both dead. . . .

Ooh! Sounds exciting! Can't wait to read it, though I do have a bit of a EEK! Oh noes! reaction when it comes to the Gin books . . . Yep, as a life-long sufferer of arachnophobia, that whole spider thing gets to me. Just the mention of the word makes my pulse splutter and shudders run down my spine. *takes a moment to calm herself* And as I can't force myself to have a pic of ELF (eight-legged freak) on the blog, here's one of the Escaped Easter Bunny from the London Experience (one of the places in The Cold Kiss of Death - see this blog post for dets) who is terrorising London this Easter Weekend!

So what do you have to do to be in with a chance of winning Tangled Threads (or your choice of an earlier book in the series)? Just leave me a comment telling me if you have a phobia (and what it is), or not! Simple, heh!

How to enter:

Leave a comment saying if you have a phobia (and what it is), 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) 28th April 2011.

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

You can get an extra entry by tweeting about the giveaway. Leave the link to the tweet as an extra comment.

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).

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.

Eastercon Schedule

I'll be there from lunchtime Saturday until mid-morning Sunday. I'm doing a reading* with Dan Abnett at 15.00 on Saturday. I'm not sure who's going first, but I'll be in the room from 15.00. At other times I'll be in the Dealers' room at the Gollancz table, in the bar, or wondering. Please do say hello and chat, and please forgive me if I don't immediately match you in RL with your online persona, if I know you. I'm not very good at that sort of thing. But feel free to give me clues, and add to my embarrassment as I try and guess who you are :-D

I was all on my lonesome at my first, and until now, only reading (Fantasycon 2008), so please come and see me. I'll be bringing Cadbury's mini eggs, liquorice torpedoes, and Spellcrackers Bling pencils. *offers bribes and looks hopeful*

*I'm lucky, my SiL is a hairdresser, and is wonderful for these sorts of panicked emergencies :-)

Okay so the post isn't that short - what can I say, I'm a writer *g*

Winner: London Tour Giveaway!

Thanks to everyone who left comments about which London Tour from The Cold Kiss of Death (out 26th April - only 4 days to go!!! Yay!!) they'd like to take! All the places are fabulous, so if you ever get the chance to visit . . . Go for it!!

And now for the winner, who gets their choice of one of my books! *g*

Random.org has spoken . . .

and the winner is

Rissatoo

Who said...

Only pick one? Are you kidding me? I wanna see EVERYTHING in London! Waaah!

OK, let's get serious... We have wonderful wineries nearby for tastings, so that can be crossed off. Same goes for the market. I've seen the London Bridge here (is it at Lake Havasu? Cannot recall, it's been 20 years.), so not that. I'm pretty sure I can see boat replicas down at the harbor, so no Hinde.

Huh. That still leaves me with what? Clink, Experience & Tombs, I think. A quick coin toss (What? You don't have a three-sided coin, too? :p), and the winner is: the London Experience. Whew. That was difficult.

Congratulations Rissatoo! A tweet is on its way to you!

Thanks again to everyone for entering! This week's giveaway will go live soon!

'Behind the Pen' at The Spinecracker

The fabulous Jessica at The Spinecracker had me answer her great 'Behind the Pen' questions. Why not head on over and find out my biggest pet peeve, and what qualities I like in a man (and a woman *g*)! Plus there's a giveaway of The Cold Kiss of Death (out April 26 US / out now UK) to one lucky commentator (Int. Ends Monday April 25th at midnight (pst))

Jess at The Spinecracker has also kindly reviewed The Cold Kiss of Death. She liked it! Yay!

Bottom Line: Mcleod comes back with such force in this second book. Her characters still have intrigue, her world remains mysterious, and her plots are diabolical. The Cold Kiss of a Death is a literary trifecta.

Thanks, Jess! You can read the whole review here if you're so inclined :-)

And talking of giveaways, the winner of J.A. Campbell's giveaway for a copy of both Westward, Yo! and Range Feud is . . .

Matilda!

Congratulations, Matilda! An email is on it's way to you!

*****

And don't forget this week's celebratory giveaway here on the blog is for winner's choice of one of my books! So go here to enter!

Tour London in The Cold Kiss of Death (+ Giveaway)

US Cover

Well, I'm a bit later posting this week's celebratory giveaway, as I got carried away* with the writing today. Anyway, we're now on week # 14 of my 16 weeks of giveaways to celebrate the the upcoming US release of book 2 The Cold Kiss of Death (out 26th April - only 10'ish days to go!!! Yay!!), and the UK release of book 3 The Bitter Seed of Magic (Out Now! And don't forget you can get it from The Book Depository with Free WorldWide Del (she says, just dropping that tiny bit of self-promo in there . . .) *g*

So it's all about MY BOOKS this week!! And one of the things I love about using London as the setting, is that it's full of fantastic and interesting places. In fact, sometimes I have a hard time choosing which ones to use. But when it came to The Cold Kiss of Death it was all made easier for me by a lovely birthday day out. Here's a tour of some of the great places appearing in the book, that Mr Mc treated me to! Yay! Love that man!

First up is the London Experience and The London Tombs ~ a fun, and sometimes scary exhibition with a good dash of the historical, which is a great day out for all ages (remembering that it can be scary . . .). It's a place that plays a big part in the book. Here's an extract from chapter two where Genny is in the tombs working on a ghost survey with Finn:

"Chewing the end of my pencil, I scanned the underground site again. Bare bulbs in their yellow hanging cages lit the place brighter than the midday sun, even though it was past midnight. The bright lights didn’t make me feel any better: they cast weird shadows over the abandoned builders’ tools, turning them into hiding places full of staring eyes; watching. Thick cobwebs stretched across the arched brick roof and damp stained the walls with algae-slimed patches. And it smelled old and musty, with an underlying whiff of putrefying flesh – a smell Finn had assured me existed only in my over-active imagination, not that his assurances made the smell go away. The place was creepy enough even without the steady stream of ghosts drifting by. Finally my gaze skittered over the more modern breezeblock wall blocking the River Thames end of the tunnel and landed on the cordoned-off area in one corner. An avalanche of old human bones spilled out over the floor. The very bones I’d been trying to ignore all night, especially as I had an odd notion that they kept whispering my name."

The Clink Prison Museum ~ the museum is built upon the original site of the Clink Prison, which dates back to 1144 making it one of England’s oldest, if not the oldest Prison. It's small but perfectly equipped with a selection of original artefacts, and torture devices. The museum is another place that plays a big part in one section of the book. Here's an extract from chapter 11:

"I reached the Clink and almost slipped down the small flight of worn stone steps that led into the museum. I paid my admission and walked slowly through the exhibits towards the large back room.

A concrete troll sat at a big wooden table, rolling a crap-shoot of plastic dice back and forth between his large slab-like hands. He was old – or at least he’d had a hard life; his nose was missing a chunk and his age cracks had been filled with blue-coloured grout, making his pitted concrete skin look like it had a map of wriggling blue lines drawn on it. The troll’s name was Blue, unsurprisingly appropriate, and the info plaque in front of him stated that trolls had been used as jailers at the Clink as far back as the fifteenth century."

London Bridge ~ There's been a bridge over this section of the Thames since the Roman occupation of the area, nearly 2,000 years ago. It's been replaced/rebuilt a few times over the years, and the current bridge has been there since 1973. Bad things happen to it in the book!

The Borough Market in Southwark ~ a fantastic food market, with some scrumptious eateries. We had lunch at a fab fish restaurant (fish is my fav food as anyone who knows me *g*) with a lovely glass of bubbly*. The market gets a very brief mention in the book :-)

The Golden Hinde ~ The Golden Hinde is a full-sized reconstruction of the Tudor warship in which Sir Francis Drake circumnavigated the globe in 1577 – 1580. We didn't visit this, so that's a trip for another day, but the ship does get a mention in passing in the book, along with a selkie who's squatting in the captain's cabin.(now that's a short story waiting to happen . . . sometime *g*)

And one place we went that didn't appear in the book: Vinopolis ~ The place to go in London for a wonderful wine tasting tours.

So onto the giveaway! Here's what you need to do to be in with a chance of winning your choice* of one of my books: Leave me a comment telling me which place from The Cold Kiss of Death you'd choose to visit.

And if you haven't tried any of my books yet, then check out the books pages on my website. UK editions here. US editions here.(UK and US editions have the same text, but different covers)

How to enter:

Leave a comment with which place from The Cold Kiss of Death you'd choose to visit.

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) 21st April 2011.

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

You can get an extra entry by tweeting about the giveaway. Leave the link to the tweet as an extra comment.

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).

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.

*I blame it on the ménage à trois that turned up unexpectedly. Definitely didn't see that one coming! *g* And no, before anyone asks, the ménage isn't who you're all thinking! Mwahahahahaha! *Evil Author Moment*

*Yep, I know, bubbly for lunch, and then a wine tasting! Hedonistic! But hey, it was my birthday!

* Winner can choose one book from: The Sweet Scent of Blood #1, The Cold Kiss of Death #2, The Bitter Seed of Magic #3, Home Improvement: Undead Edition #1/2 (contains prequel Spellcrackers short story).

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

Winner: Dead Reckoning - Charlaine Harris

Thanks to everyone who left comments about what foods they'd read and wondered about! Lots of interesting ones there, and lots I'm going to want to try when I get the chance! :-D (Plus reading all the comments makes you sooooo hungry!)

So, onwards to find out who's won the 11th book in the fantastic Sookie Stackhouse series: Dead Reckoning* by the awesome Charlaine Harris. Out in the USand the UKon 3rd May. Not long now!!

Random.org has done it's thing

and the winner is

Mizz Rizz

Who said...

I've always wanted to have a meal in an Irish pub, with a Guinness that has been properly poured (or stacked? built? not sure on the correct lingo)

I'd also like to try real Italian coffee in all its marvelous forms direct from the source, in an Italian coffee bar.

Congratulations Mizz Rizz, an email is on its way to you!

Thank you all again for entering, and don't forget to check back later when this week's giveaway is The Cold Kiss of Death by Suzanne McLeod! Oh, wait! That's me! Yep, I'm giving away my own book which comes out in the US on April 26! Not long now! Yay!

* Just to make you all green-eyed with envy . . . I got this in the post today! Woot! A huge thank you to my wonderful book fairy at Gollancz! If anyone wants me, I'll be reading!

Why yes, that is my thumb in the picture! *g*

Into the West by J. A . Campbell (Guest post + Giveaway)

Today, I’d like to welcome J. A. Campbell (a.k.a. Julie). Julie is a wonderful young adult author, whose debut novel Senior Year Bites will be out later this year. Senior Year Bites is about Megan Taylor, a senior in high school, and her misadventures after being turned into a vampire.You can read more about it here. But today, Julie's going to tell us about her fantastic new short story series (the second of which releases today! Yay! Congrats, Julie!), and to celebrate, Julie's offering one lucky commentator an e-copy of both her short stories! Take it away, Julie!

Suzanne, thank you so much for having me here today and letting me talk a little bit about my new short story series, Into the West. It’s part of an exciting new project by Quake, the young adult division of Echelon Press. The project, called the Electric Shorts are ebooks geared towards ages seven to seventeen (though mine are in the slightly older age range of 10 to 17 or so). Several authors with Echelon Press agreed to be guinea pigs and give it a try. The idea was to write some very entertaining stories at a very easy reading level, that way even teens who might be reluctant to read would find these engaging and enjoyable. There will be six shorts total (all about 15,000 words give or take) in this series. They are all interconnected like TV episodes in a season of a show.

So far the project has been a ton of fun. It has also been extremely challenging. None of us had stories written ahead of time, so we’re all writing on a month-to-month deadline. Combining that with the day job, life, and the edits for other projects that I have coming out this year have kept me very busy. That’s ok though, that’s what being a writer is all about. Writing, even when you don’t really have the time.

The Into the West series is full of Wild West adventures, including horses, cute cowboys, real gunslingers, silver mines and a paranormal twist (because I wrote it and I can’t write anything without a hint of fantasy in it.)

Westward, Yo! came out on March 8th and Range Feud will be out today, the 12th. They are available in the US and the UK from Amazon and other ebook retailers. You can find the descriptions of both below.

And because I’m super excited that Suzanne had me here, I’d like to give away a copy of both Westward, Yo! and Range Feud to one lucky commenter. Please leave us some way to contact you. We’ll draw a winner on the 19th. Contest open internationally.

Into the West
Tina Harker is a typical teenager. She loves hanging with her friends at the malls, shoes, and manicures. More than that, she loves horses. Life is everything she wants it to be, until her father packs their family up and drags them across the world to Arizona. Does he really think she’ll be happy living in a ghost town in the middle of the desert? It’s a million miles to the nearest shopping center, not even a real mall. Her only hope for survival is finding a new horse.

Tina is no quitter. She prepares herself for western saddles, rattlesnakes, the horrible desert heat, and limited shopping. However, nothing can prepare her for Wild West bandits, cattle thieves, and a really cute cowboy. Maybe things won’t be so bad—or will they?

#1Westward, Yo! (Into the West)
Trying to make the best of her horrible situation, Tina agrees to go on her first cattle drive. When one of the calves wanders off, Tina, in true cowgirl fashion and looking for excitement, rides off to rescue the poor little thing and gets a lot more adventure than she ever expected. A cowboy she’s never met accuses her of stealing cows, bandits kidnap her, and that’s not even the exciting part.

#2 Range Feud
Tina Harker is a typical teenager. She loves hanging with her friends at the malls, shoes, and manicures. More than that, she loves horses. Life is everything she wants it to be, until her father packs their family up and drags them across the world to Arizona. Does he really think she’ll be happy living in a ghost town in the middle of the desert? It’s a million miles to the nearest shopping center, not even a real mall. Her only hope for survival is finding a new horse.

Anxious for more adventure, Tina agrees to inspect the fence line for the Taggarts like a real cowgirl. She gets what she wished for. This time she has to rescue the cute cowboy, and she finds out people will kill over water. Especially in the desert. Tina is determined to help her cowboy, but she has no idea how a Jersey girl can stand up to real gunslingers.

Bio
Julie writes fantasy novels. When she’s not out riding her horse, she can usually be found sitting in front of her computer with a cat on her lap and her dog at her side. You can find out at her website www.writerjacampbell.com

How to enter:

Leave a comment for Julie!

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, chosen by Random.org, and closes end of day (GMT time) 19th April 2011.

And while you're here, don't forget to go enter this week's celebratory giveaway on the blog for Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris.

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

Dead Reckoning with True 'Grits' Giveaway (Charlaine Harris)

I've been reading books by American writers for a looooog time now, and as I'm British, I often find some things get 'lost in translation'. (Which no doubt happens on occasion when someone who isn't British reads one of my books *g*).

One thing that always made me curious was 'grits'; everyone seemed to eat it, and I hadn't a clue what it was (this was before the internet was around to give me a million and one explanations ;p). But even when I did discover grits was a sort of corn porridge, it still seemed weird that it was eaten with savoury food. (The porridge I'm used to is eaten with salt or sugar, and sometimes cream! Oh, and a splash of whisky for those special brekkies!Yummy! :-)) So it wasn't till Mr Mc and I holidayed in Florida, 4 or so years ago, that I got the chance to try grits. (I liked it :-))

For those who don't know what grits are, this is from the font of all webby knowledge: Wikipedia. ;p

Grits is a food of Native American origin that is common in the Southern United States, mainly used in breakfast. It consists of coarsely ground corn . . . [and] is similar to other thick maize-based porridges from around the world, such as polenta (which I also hadn't tried till a few years ago :-D).

So, keeping grits in mind . . . We're now on week # 13 of my 16 weeks of giveaways to celebrate the the upcoming US release of book 2 The Cold Kiss of Death (out 26th April), and the UK release of book 3 The Bitter Seed of Magic (Out Now! And available from The Book Depository with Free WorldWide Del) (I know, you all know that, and thanks to everyone who's bought, read, and hopefully loved it, but hey, I thought I'd just point it out . . . One. More. Time!) *g*

So, on with this week's giveaway. It's for the 11th book in the fantastic Sookie Stackhouse series: Dead Reckoning* by one of my all time writerly heroes, the wonderful and gracious Charlaine Harris. Out in the USand the UKon 3rd May.

Cover blurb from Amazon:

'With her knack for being in trouble's way, Sookie witnesses the firebombing of Merlotte's, the bar where she works. Since Sam Merlotte is now known to be two-natured, suspicion falls immediately on the anti-shifters in the area. Sookie suspects otherwise, but her attention is divided when she realizes that her lover Eric Northman and his "child" Pam are plotting to kill the vampire who is now their master. Gradually, Sookie is drawn into the plot-which is much more complicated than she knows...'

Oooooh! I'm sooooo glad we only have to wait a couple more weeks for this! Sooooo looking forward to reading it! I LOVE the Sookie books with a passion (Okay, I'll admit it, a good chunk of that passion does belong to Eric! But then he's always been my favourite vamp *fans herself* *g*)

And just to give you whiplash from drooling over Eric, to hopefully not drooling over grits, here's what you need to do to be in with a chance of winning Dead Reckoning. Leave me a comment telling me what food/thing/whatever you've read about in a book that's made you curious.

How to enter:

Leave a comment about what food/thing/whatever you've read in a book that's made you curious.

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) 14th April 2011.

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

You can get an extra entry by tweeting about the giveaway. Leave the link to the tweet as an extra comment.

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).

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

Winner: Magic on the Hunt - Devon Monk

Thanks to everyone who left name suggestions for my two gargoyles, there are lots of fab ones . . . but I'm not going to name the gargoyles just yet. Why not? I hear you ask (Lol! I know I can't actually hear you, but I like to think you're all reading along with me here, and wondering *g*). So the answer is: my two gargoyles are insisting on being in a book, maybe the one I'm writing now, or maybe the one after. Which means that the names they end up with will have to be picked by one of the characters, so we'll all have to wait and see :-D. I will keep you posted!

Now, on to this week's winner of Magic on the Hunt (Allie Beckstrom #6) by the awesome Devon Monk! Which UK peeps can buy from The Book Depository; my copy arrived today! Yay! Happy Reading ahead!

Random.org has done it's thing

and the winner is

Jennzah

Who said...

'Fenrir and Bellic are my two names :)'

Congratulations Jennzah, an email is on its way to you!

Thank you all for entering again, and don't forget to check back later when this week's giveaway Dead Reckoning (Sookie Stackhouse, Book 11)by the wonderful Charlaine Harris goes live!

Desdaemona by Ben Macallan

I was asked if I would read, and if I liked, to blurb Desdaemona by Ben Macallan. So I read, and I LOVED, and so here's the blurb! :-)

"Ben Macallan masterfully weaves myth, magic and the mundane to create a world where dangerous supernaturals control the shadows in a superbly realized English landscape. With its deft plotting, evocative prose, and the unique pairing of Jay, the plucky, engaging narrator, with the cool, take-no-prisoners Desdaemona, Macallan’s tale is smart, witty, full of surprises, and grips until the very last shock. Desdaemona Rocks! I can’t wait for the next book!" Suzanne McLeod, author of the Spellcrackers.com urban fantasy series.

Ben is a.k.a. the inimitable Chaz Brenchley, and while I know Chaz from chatting occasionally on LJ, and at conferences, I have to confess I've never read any of his books before. After reading Desdaemona, I'm searching out his other books, and eagerly hoping that 'Ben Macallan' writes many more wonderful stories in Desdaemona's world! If you're an urban fantasy fan then Desdaemona is one for your TBR pile!

Here's the cover blurb from Goodreads:

Jordan helps kids on the run find their way back home. He’s good at that. He should be – he’s a runaway himself. Sometimes he helps the kids in other, stranger ways. He looks like a regular teenager, but he’s not. He acts like he’s not exactly human, but he is. He treads the line between mundane reality and the world of the supernatural, including the awesome Powers That Be.

Desdaemona also knows the non-human world far too well. She tracks Jordan down and enlists his aid in searching for her lost sister Fay, who did a Very Bad Thing involving an immortal. This may be a mistake – for both of them. Too many people are interested now, and some of them are not people at all!

Desdaemona is out on 1st June in the UK, and 31st May in the US.

(There is one slightly odd thing I want to add about the cover, which I love . . . but, despite the fab werewolf lurking in the background, werewolves only play a very small part in the book, so . . . don't expect lots of werewolf action :-))

Fantastically Cool Things for which I'm grateful . . .

Some very cool things happened in the last week . . .

Genre for Japan was one, or more accurately two, of the coolest. As you know (if you've been reading the blog the last week :-)), I donated two lots:

I'm utterly STUNNED to tell you that a lovely, wonderful lady bid a STAGGERING £305 for a critique of her writing! A huge, HUGE Thank You to L.L. Wynn; my Red Pen is sharpened to perfection, and at the ready!

And an obviously very brave gentleman* bid an amazing £100 to have his name as a character in my next book! Another equally HUGE Thank You to Steven Dean*.

Yay! I'm so, so grateful to both L.L. Wynn and Steven, along with everyone else that bid for my lots (sorry you couldn't all win . . .) in the auction. Thanks to the efforts of the Genre for Japan team, everyone who donated a lot, and everyone who bid on a lot, the auction raised £11,203.36 (US$18,075.77 according to the current exchange rate).

That is a fantastic sum, and all of it is to be donated to the Japan Tsunami Appeal, being run by the British Red Cross. With tax taken into account, that’s going to easily exceed the twenty thousand dollar mark.

You can see a list of everything that was donated, here.

So, kudos and thanks again to the organisers: Amanda Rutter, Ro Smith, Louise Morgan, Jenni Hill and Alasdair Stuart. This wouldn’t have happened without them. I proud and humbled to be able to be a part of such a brilliant idea. *Does the mega happy dance*

***

Now for the other cool thing . . . I have some lovely news about The Cold Kiss of Death over at SF Site, they've published their Top Ten Best SF and Fantasy Books of 2010. And in their Editors' choice . . .

*Cue Excited Drumroll*

The Cold Kiss of Death is No. 5*!

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW!

Another HUGE THANK YOU to the awesome SF Site Editors!!!

Covers: US (left) and UK (right)

Yay!! Cup Cakes for all!!!

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And a quick reminder about this week's celebratory 'Gargoyle Loving Giveaway', which is for Magic on the Hunt (Allie Beckstrom #6) by the awesome Devon Monk, one of my all time fav authors! It's officially out in the US tomorrow 5th April, and UK peeps can buy from The Book Depository :-) You can enter the Gargoyle Loving Giveaway here by leaving your suggestions for names for my own two, sadly, nameless gargoyles!!

And if you visit Devon over at the Deadline Dames blog on the 5th, there's a chance to win your very own Stone, seen here reading Magic on the Hunt!

*He's picked the baddie character, and will have an amazing super power, which may or may not, make up for his horrific, excruciatingly painful, and no doubt extremely bloody demise! (Evil author has dastardly plans!!!) *g*

*Okay, so this is a spoiler, there's no way round it: the character called 'Steven Dean' in my next book will DIE! He'll DIE, I tell you! *takes a calming breath as everyone steps away from the scary author* But what isn't a spoiler, is . . . you won't know HOW, or WHEN he's going to die! *cackles*

*I'm so stoked about this *squeeeeeeeeee*, and yes, since you asked, I do keep clicking to check my book is still actually still there at No. 5! *pinches herself*

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