Where I'll be - Anthony Head - Giveaway!

A quick post to say I've happened across a giveaway for The Bitter Seed of Magic and Under Attack by Hannah Jayne on Paranormal Haven Blog (Int. Ends Jan 31.)


And I will at the SFX Weekender next weekend! Yay! I'm going as a punter, not a guest, but I'm happy to sign books, or anything else (within reason!). If you're going to be there, then do say hello! I don't bite. Much! *g*

The programme's just gone live and it looks like a whole lot of fantastic FUN! Plus, ANTHONY HEAD! *nuff said* *g*

Rabid Reader Double Giveaway!

Hello 2012!  I hope you all had a wonderful time ushering the New Year in? Mr Mc and I greeted  it quietly with the requisite malt and shortbread while watching the spectacular fireworks at the London Eye on the TV :-D. Sadly, the excitement and late night (I'm such a lightweight :-D) must have been too much for me as the Migraine Monster attacked yesterday (not hangover related, more's the pity), but after crawling under the covers early afternoon and hiding until this morning, the MM is now only a tiny niggle and victory should be mine very soon. *relieved sigh* :-)

And so onto my first post this new year! Which is to give you the heads up that the fabulous Mardel at Rabid Reader has a giveaway for 'The Bitter Seed of Magic' (Out Now US *happy dance*, and UK!) and the amazing 'Doc Vampire Hunting Dog' by J.A. Campbell. So head over to there now and enter! (there's not a lot of entries, so the odds are good for winning :-)) Open to US only, I think, and ends Jan 15. So, go on, go enter! You know you want to *g*

Yay! Don't the black and red covers look purty together? Though I'm not sure my vamps would be too chuffed to bump into Doc, not with that stake of his! *G*

Happy Book Birthday - The Bitter Seed of Magic (US)

Hello, my lovelies! Here's hoping you've all had a great Christmas, or great weekend if Christmas isn't your celebration, and that you're all still enjoying the winter holiday. And for those of you already back to work, an extra special hello!) :-D

I'm here to say Happy Book Birthday to ME! *G*

The Bitter Seed of Magic is out today in the US! Yay! 
Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Indiebound, Chapters.ca, Powell's, Amazon.co.uk

On the surface, Genny's life seems ripple-free right now. Finn, her sexy boss and -- well, Genny's not sure what else she wants him to be -- has stopped pushing for a decision on their relationship. The seductive vampire Malik al-Khan has vanished back into the shadows. And the witches have declared her no longer a threat. But unless Genny can find a way to break the fertility curse afflicting London's fae, she knows this is just the lull before the magical storm.

Then a faeling -- a teenage girl -- is fished out of the River Thames, dead and bound with magic, and Genny is called into investigate. As she digs through the clues, her search takes a sinister and dangerous turn, exposing age-old secrets that might be better left buried. Then another faeling disappears, and Genny finds herself in a race against time to save the faeling and stop the curse from claiming its next victim -- herself!

Read Chapter One here!

And it shares a Book Birthday with these wonderful books by my writerly pals! Plus there's many others! So if you were given any of those handy book vouchers as pressies, then you've got plenty of fabulous new books to choose from! (Including mine! *g*)

HAPPY READING!

A totally AWESOME book by my fab crit partner! A MUST read!

Now that the threat of war has passed, Sabina Kane is ready to focus on the future. Her relationship with Adam Lazarus is getting stronger and she's helping her sister, Maisie, overcome the trauma of her captivity in New Orleans. Even Giguhl is managing to stay out of trouble thanks to the arrival of Pussy Willow and his new roller derby team. But as much as Sabina wants to feel hopeful about the future, part of her doesn't believe that peace is possible.

Her suspicions are confirmed when a string of sadistic murders threatens to stall treaty negotiations between the mages and the vampires. Sabina pitches in to find the killer, but her investigation soon leads her down dark paths that have her questioning everyone she thought she could trust. And the closer she gets to the killer, the more Sabina begins to suspect this is one foe she may not be able to kill.

So looking forward to reading this! I know it's going to be great!

The world is falling apart. The magical apocalypse has come. Now is the time to guard the covenstead against both raiders and refugees. But Max has been stolen by a powerful demi-god who is determined to force her to find a way to use a magical power she never knew she had—even if it kills her. Meanwhile, back in Horngate, a Fury is birthing. When the creature breaks free of the fragile bonds that enclose her, her rage will scour the covenstead from the earth.

Max finds herself in the Shadow City, a place of mysteries and magic, where she must battle for her freedom or become a slave to creatures of dreadful greed and power. Back in Horngate, Alexander must swallow his anger and pride if he hopes to defeat the Fury, a creature that no one has ever successfully fought before.

In the end, it will be courage, friendship, faith and loyalty that win the day. Or else so one will live to see tomorrow.

Oh, my, sexy selkies! What's not to love? *fins, err, sorry, fans herself!* Giveaway here!

A lonely widow and a handsome artist have a chance for happiness…with the help of a sexy selkie, that is.

After the death of Meredith’s husband many years before, she allowed his legacy to take over her life. A shell of a woman, she finds little joy in her day-to-day tasks. Drawn to her pain, the empathic selkie Dylan knows she’s ready to live and love again, and he knows that he’s just the man for the job.

As Dylan draws Meredith out of her shell, he realizes that to truly free her, he needs to help her accept her budding love for Alexander, an artist who challenges Meredith on every level: intellectually, emotionally and sexually. To achieve a true happy ending, Dylan must help his chosen humans break down their emotional barriers in order to grab the happiness they so deserve.

Warning: This book features a lonely widow, a hot artist waiting in the wings, and the sexy selkie who brings them together…in every possible way.

Last one! *sad face* Can't wait to find out what happens!

Shaman-for-hire Eugenie Markham strives to keep the mortal realm safe from trespassing entities. But as the Thorn Land's prophecy-haunted queen, there's no refuge for her and her soon-to-be-born-children when a mysterious blight begins to devastate the Otherworld. . .

The spell-driven source of the blight isn't the only challenge to Eugenie's instincts. Fairy king Dorian is sacrificing everything to help, but Eugenie can't trust the synergy drawing them back together. The uneasy truce between her and her shape shifter ex-lover Kiyo is endangered by secrets he can't--or won't--reveal. And as a formidable force rises to also threaten the human world, Eugenie must use her own cursed fate as a weapon--and risk the ultimate sacrifice.

Book Lovers Inc. Advent Calendar Giveaway!

Hello!

Christmas is getting nearer every day!

*panics and rushes round like a headless turkey*

And the fabulous ladies over at Book Lovers Inc. have a Book'y Advent Calendar going on. Yay! The giveaway behind today's door is The Bitter Seed of Magic (or winner's choice of one of my books :-D). So why not head on over there and join in the holiday fun!!

Giveaway ends Dec 17 and is INT.. where Book Depository ships.

*inserts shameless self-promo*

The Bitter Seed of Magic is out now in the UK and Auz.
The Bitter Seed of Magic releases US on Dec 27; the perfect time to buy it with your Christmas Book Vouchers! *hint hint* :-D
Bittersüße Nacht is out Jan 16 in German.

*Toots Book's own Horn*

Here's what the lovely Caroline* of Book Lovers Inc. said about The Bitter Seed of Magic!

"This book was fantastic. It’s even better than the 2nd book. The story has so many twists and turns, it was a ‘OMG’-fest in my house. (Suzanne you’re still EVIL!) I just didn’t see any of these events coming. Suzanne McLeod created a very fascinating and complex world. I didn’t want the book to end. Fanta-bulous."

Read the full review here!

I HEART Caroline! *g*

Messenger of the Goddess!

Hello, my lovlies, I'm absolutely thrilled to show you the Messenger of the Goddess an awesome piece by the fabulous Psynde of Cemetery Cat Designs, inspired by The Bitter Seed of Magic. Wouldn't it make a fantastic present for Christmas, or even a treat for yourself? And why not check out the rest of Cemetery Cat's wares! Lots of wonderful things to choose from if anyone's looking for ideas :-D

‘Messenger of the Goddess’; bestowed with the power to travel between the planes of existence to better serve the wishes of his mistress. To be granted the raven’s assistance is to receive Her blessing and protection.

 

A sterling silver over brass raven flies across your neck holding an oval faceted rainbow moonstone (with flashes of blue), silver plate chain holds it all together, while another moonstone dangles from the clasp.17"

Out now UK   -   December 27 US   -  16 January Germany

Where I'm going tomorrow . . .

. . . is the HeadRead Literary Festival in Tallinn, Estonia! I'm superexcited about this as it's my first literary festival as a Guest! Yay! Huge thanks to the HeadRead organisers for the wonderful invitation.

So, I'll be around at the Festival (I'm not sure all of what's planned) but on Saturday 28 May at 12.00 the lovely Sash Uusjärv will be grilling me mercilessly interviewing me about my books, at the Estonian Writers' Union, Harju 1, Estonia. If you're around that way, then please, feel free to come and heckle listen :-D

Another reason I'm over the moon, is I've never been to Tallinn, and it looks an awesome amazing place to visit. The Historic Centre (Old Town) of Tallinn is a UNESCO World Heritage Site*. And this year, Tallin is also the European Capital of Culture! Totally unsuprising when you look at this gorgeous aerial view of the Town Wall and St. Olav's Church. (courtesy of Tallinn City Tourist Office and Convention Bureau © Toomas Volmer)

click to embiggen

The third superexciting part of the Festival is VERE MAGUS LÕHN (a.k.a. The Sweet Scent of Blood) is being published by Varrak! *Mega Happy Dancing* And look at the fabulous cover! Huge thanks and kudos to Varrak and their fantastic Cover Gods!

Now, of course, I'm taking my laptop, after all, I'm still on the Deadline of Doom (TM) for book 4 - The Shifting Price of Prey,so I need to keep to my daily word count. And I plan* on taking lots of pictures, but I'm not sure what sort of internet availability I'll have, so if I'm even quieter than usual (re: Deadline of Doom) that's the reason!

* Of course, the Tower of London is a UNESCO World Heritage Site too - and coincidentally features in The Bitter Seed of Magic which is available with free worldwide delivery from The Book Depository!  #shamelessbookplug!!! *g*
* I always plan on taking lots of pictures, but it doesn't always work out that way - hopefully this time will be different! *fingers crossed*

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

Giveaway: Iron Crowned - Richelle Mead

One of the things  I love when it comes to writing and reading about faeries/fairies/fae/fay is the sheer variety there is to choose from, as there are hundreds of myths, legends and stories from all corners of the world. It's always a joy to discover a particular faerie that fits right in with the tale I'm telling, and lots of fun deciding how to tweak them to make them my own.

Plus it's endlessly fascinating to see how other authors use the fae in their own stories. So far the different faeries in my books are mostly taken from the Celtic, Norse and European myths, but as I write more stories about Genny and Co., well, you never know who, or what might make an appearance . . . *teases* :-)

And after talking about faeries, it's not surprising that my celebratory giveaway this week (# 6) is for Richelle Mead's Iron Crowned, #3 in the Dark Swan series, which has a whole otherworld full of fay, and a character who is half kitsune: a Japanese fox shapeshifter.

But first I want to say a huge THANK YOU to everyone for helping me celebrate, and especially to those of you who have already read, and loved The Bitter Seed of Magic (Spellcrackers.com #3) which had its official UK release date on the 17th Feb.(1st time in print). Yay! Happy Book B'day to TBSOM!   
Cake* and bubbly for all! 

And don't forget to check out the side bar for links to where you could win your own copy of The Bitter Seed of Magic!

Plus, of course, in a few weeks time we'll be celebrating again when ...

The Cold Kiss of Death - Spellcrackers # 2 releases in the US on 26th April (out now in the UK)



But now, before we get back to this week's fabulous giveaway book ... 
Giveaway now closed

US cover out 22nd Feb

 Iron Crowned by Richelle Mead 

I'd like to say Many Congratulations to Richelle and her husband on the wonderful, exciting news that they're expecting a bundle of baby joy later this year!Congratulations!

Here's the blurb for Iron Crowned ...

Shaman-for-hire Eugenie Markham is the best at banishing entities trespassing in the mortal realm. But as the Thorn Land’s queen, she’s fast running out of ways to end the brutal war devastating her kingdom. Her only hope: the Iron Crown, a legendary object even the most powerful gentry fear…

Who Eugenie can trust is the hardest part. Fairy king Dorian has his own agenda for aiding her search. And Kiyo, her shape-shifter ex-boyfriend, has every reason to betray her along the way. To control the Crown’s ever-consuming powers, Eugenie will have to confront an unimaginable temptation--one that will put her soul and the fate of two worlds in mortal peril…

UK cover out 31st March

Ooh, I'm so looking forward to this one!! Richelle is a lovely lady, and I adore all of her series, so I know this one is going to be a wonderful read!

You can read an excerpt from Iron Crowned here on Richelle's website!

So, for a chance to win your very own copy of Iron Crowned*, all you have to do is leave a comment telling me who, or what is your favourite faerie. Either a character from Fiction, TV, Film or a type from myth or legend.

Alternatively, leave your congratulations for Richelle on her wonderful news!


How to enter:

Leave a comment with your favourite faerie, or congratulations.
 
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 Feb 2011

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. I will still continue to reply to comments on any other post :-)

*Winner can choose an earlier book in the Dark Swan series instead.

* Sadly, this isn't the cake that we had at my writers' crit group on Thursday to celebrate (I'm way to disorganised for that), but I photoshopped it from here, and next time ! *she says with determination* I'm going to be getting one of these cool cakes! Just watch this space! *g*

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

Five Links of Fang-tastic Love!

Happy Valentine's Day to all!

Hope you're having a Fang-tastic, heart-pumping, romantic time! *g*

Links of Love # 1.

Gollancz have a new Dark Fantasy Newsletter out, and you'll never guess who's the Guest Editor ... Lol! Well, okay, you probably will if you're reading this. *g* So, why not click on over and you can check out my editorial scribblings here, and there's a couple of great giveaways* to enter too!

 

Link of Love # 2

The lovely Book Chick City is hosting this! 

and today's post is from the fabulous Louise Court, who is a Publicity Assistant at Orion/Gollancz. Louise lets us in on what it's like to work with all the wonderful books, and what happens when they're getting published. Oh, and she's giving away FOUR fang-tastic* books (one of which you might just recognise *g*).

Links of Love # 3 -  Rabid Reader has a contest for a signed book*! (scroll down the post to find it) Oh, wonder which one that is? *g*


Links of Love # 4 - Get your Enchanted Boarding Ticket and take a tour of Supernatural London over at Falcata Times ... and once your tour is over, there's another magical chance to win a Spellcracker of a book*!

Links of Love # 5 - Shoot a Valentine's Day arrow at your favourite lovers, and pin them down in a comment here, and you could be all loved-up with Cat & Bones in their new book: THIS SIDE OF THE GRAVE - JEANIENE FROST.


Right, off to make romantic chocolate covered strawberries for Mr Mc - thanks to an idea given me by a a very sweet friend this morning :-) Pic spam may follow ;p

ETA:

*This post is all about the book that shall not be mentioned here (shameless shelf promotion can only be taken so far ...), the same book that is officially released this Thursday!! Yay! And is already shipping from Amazon.co.uk, The Book Depository, and has been spotted in the wild in Waterstone's in Edinburgh!

The Bitter Seed of Magic - Teasers ...

Want a chance to win a signed copy of The Bitter Seed of Magic? Then head on over to the fab Rabid Reader's blog here (you need to scroll down on the post for the details of the contest). She's holding a contest, and there's not too many entries yet, so the chances are good :-)

You can read some teasers from The Bitter Seed of Magic too

Chapter 1 here
 
Start of chapter 2 here

Snippet from later on in chapter 2 (scroll down to read)

Teaser Tuesday here from page 25 - chapter 3

Oh, and Book Lovers Inc., reviewed The Bitter Seed of Magic here ... and they loved it! *blushes/beams* *whispers* the word Fanta-bulous might have been mentioned! Yay!

Yep, I know. More shameless self-promotion! Anyone would think I've got a new book coming out soon! *g* But hey, I've also been doing some guest blogs, writing about 'things that might be interesting' so they'll be coming up soon ... just watch this space.

Oh, and don't forget to enter this week's giveaway here for your choice of two of my books!

Giveaway - Spellcrackers Books

Yay! We're now at week 4 of 16 weeks of giveaways to celebrate the release of

The Bitter Seed of Magic - Spellcrackers # 3 in the UK on 17th Feb (1st time in print)

and

The Cold Kiss of Death - Spellcrackers # 2 in the US on 26th April (out now in the UK)

And this week's giveaway is----

Okay, well the schedule says:

The Bitter Seed of Magic - Spellcrackers.com # 3
(This giveaway is now closed - check back later for the next one!)

But I've had the Migraine Monster (tm) munching on me for the last couple of days, so to cheer myself up, I'm going to give the winner not just one book, but their choice of TWO* of my books! WooT!

So if you haven't started the Spellcrackers series, or haven't got round to reading book 2 yet, here's your chance to see what hot guys, kick-ass chicks and super-cool supes you've been missing catch up! Or there's a chance to win book 3, and be on a promise for a copy of Home Improvement: Undead Edition (out Aug 2011) which contains a Spellcrackers short story (a prequel to The Sweet Scent of Blood - so no worry about spoilers), as well as lots of other wonderful stories by some fabulous authors!

How to enter:

Leave your choice of the two books you'd like if you win in the comments!

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) 10th Feb 2011

*Two books to be chosen from the following: The Sweet Scent of Blood # 1, The Cold Kiss of Death # 2, The Bitter Seed of Magic # 3, Home Improvement: Undead Edition (not available until August 2011). The two books can be sent to two different addresses, so if you've already pre-ordered The Bitter Seed of Magic (thank you!) and you win, you can spread the Spellcrackers love and give another copy to a friend :-)


See rest of General terms and rules in 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. I will still continue to reply to comments on any other post :-)

All links lead to Amazon (merely for ease). Please note: there are other online books stores available.


x/posted to my LJ: comment here or there - one entry per person.

Sneak preview ...

The fabulous Mardel a.k.a. Rabid Reader has an exclusive sneak preview of Ch. 2 The Bitter Seed of Magic on her blog. So, go read! Go on, you know you want too :-D

Oh, and she says some wonderful things about my books! Thank you, Mardel! *BLUSHES* #I♥RabidReader

Chapter 1 - The Bitter Seed of Magic

Woot! Less than a month to go until the UK release of

The Bitter Seed of Magic - Spellcrackers # 3!

*bites knuckles nervously* *jumps with excitement*

Chapter 1 is now live!!

Read it here! And I hope you all enjoy!

*** 
Don't forget to create your own spell over at Book Lovers Inc. for a chance to win a copy!

And today's the last day to tell me who your Wonder Woman is to enter the giveaway for The Iron Witch by Karen Mahoney

Clan Newsletter News!

I hope Santa was very good to you, and that you're all having a wonderful holiday wherever you are and however you celebrate!


So, the first Clan Newsletter has been sent* out!



And it's got a special preview present: an extract of The Bitter Seed of Magic which comes out in the UK in February 2011. If you want to read the preview early, then come and Join the Spellcrackers Clan here and I'll send you your very own copy of the newsletter!


Wishing you health, happiness and the the best year ever for 2011!






*here's hoping my newsletter skillz are up to scratch *chews knuckles*

Sunday Snippet

I give you a small Sunday Snippet from The Bitter Seed of Magic.

Enjoy!

Careful not to let my trainers scuff the salt and sand circle I studied the dead girl staring sightlessly up at me from its centre. She was in her late teens, and Mediterranean ‘girl next door’ pretty: dark brown eyes, blue-black hair still wavy even while wet, and a dusting of freckles over her nose. More freckles dotted the dark skin of her shoulders, but where the spaghetti strap of her flowered sundress had slipped, the line of paler flesh it exposed suggested her colour was a result of sun or a sunbed, and not her natural skin tone.

More than fifty people a year lose their lives in the River Thames.

And none of them fae.

The dead girl didn’t look like any sort of fae. The suntan was the obvious giveaway; only human DNA produces melanin. But Hugh – Detective Sergeant Hugh Munro of the Metropolitan Police’s Magic and Murder squad – wouldn’t have called me in to look at the body if this was just an ordinary human death.

And the witches wouldn’t have put her in a consecrated circle.

'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 :)'

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.

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 :-)

Good News, Bad News, Tomatoes and a (giveaway) apology

First off, here's the Good News! I can now let you in on the blurb for

The Shifting Price of Prey

Spellcrackers.com #4

Genny's life has never been busier: the summer solstice is approaching, magic is going haywire, Spellcrackers.com is under inexperienced new management, and London is hosting this year's Carnival Fantastique. Then a unicorn is found horribly mutilated in Regent's Park, garden fairies start dying out of season, and an eminent wildlife activist and her young son are snatched from a Conservation Conference. Searching for answers takes Genny and her friends, Tavish the kelpie and the super-sexy vampire Malik al-Khan, deep into magical London to the decadent and dangerous Forum Mirabilis, the secret, bloody heart of the Carnival Fantastique. And it's not long before Genny and her friends are under attack from a millennium-old adversary as they fight to save both the victims and themselves . . .

Yay! I hope you like the sound of it. I'm so excited to be able to write this book, I really love the story (even when I'm being an *evil author* to my characters *g*) and had a lot of fun writing the synopsis for it - which I actually did last July! Big thanks to Jo, my wonderful editor at Gollancz for buying it (and books 5 & 6 too *does happy dance*). The Shifting Price of Prey UK's pub date will be 16th June 2011.

Oh, right, the tomatoes *g* Well, I'm growing some, so expect to be spammed with Tomato pics soon :-) Hopefully mine will look as good as these *fingers crossed*.

Now for the Bad News :-(

Unfortunately the publishing date for The Bitter Seed of Magic - Spellcrackers.com #3 (UK) has been put back approx 2 months to the 18th November 2010. :-( I'm really sorry and disappointed about this, and there's no one reason as to why, but several* that all together mean this is the best thing for the book.

Lastly the apology. To say sorry I'm going to hold a giveaway for the new book of one of my favourite authors - Devon Monk - Magic on the Storm. I was lucky to win a signed ARC, and I can tell you this book is a fab-u-lous read! I *LOVE* it!

All you have to do to be in with a chance at winning is to leave me a comment telling me which book you're looking forward to reading next.

I also love this cover, I think it's the best yet of all of the Allie Beckstrom books. But the book to be won is another ARC (not my signed one, I'm keeping that ;p) so the cover is sort of plain yellow card, and not quite as pretty.

One entry per commentator.

Contest now closed Giveaway ends 29th April 2010 end of day anywhere.

International - open to all.

Winner will be drawn by Random.org and notified here on the blog

And don't forget you can also enter to win one of my books at the contests page at Spellcrackers.com!


* I injured my arm and shoulder while I was writing it. This in turn casued a bad flare up with my carpal tunnel and RSI problems, which sadly caused me to miss my deadline. Then Jo, my editor had her own health problems, which delayed the editing process. So although everyone is sorry, the decision was made to put back the pub date, but this means the book will be better for not being rushed through to meet the original date.

x/posted to my LJ: comment here or there

The Bitter Seed of Magic : Spellcrackers.com #3 - Cover Released

Here's the cover for The Bitter Seed of Magic : Spellcrackers.com # 3 - isn't it gorgeous?

That's the White Tower - the oldest part of the Tower of London - behind Genny. The White Tower is the original square fortress started by William the Conqueror around 1080. Perched on the wall next to Genny are two of the Tower's Ravens. And yes, they play a part in the story :-)

Yay! The cover gods a.k.a. Gollancz' art department have been *good* to me! Thank you, Gollancz!