Black Friday Sale - Dead But Not Forgotten!

Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate! I hope you all had a fab day and are recovering from the food comas! And the best way to recover, IMO, is to take it easy and read, or you could take a long walk and listen, if you're so inclined! ;-D

If you're into the relaxing and reading then Dead But Not Forgotten came out in print and ebooks this week! Yay! It's full of awesome stories set in the wonderful world of Sookie Stackhouse! And I'm thrilled and honoured that Charlaine Harris and Toni LP Kelner chose my fun tale - The Bat-Signal - about Luna Garza, werebat, to be part of the anthology!

If you want to check it out then here're the links to Amazon UK, and Amazon US. Plus you can get it at any lovely bricks and mortar books shop or etailers :-)

And if you're into exercising and listening then you're in luck! Audible are having a Black Friday Sale! And Dead But Not Forgotten is part of it! Double Yay! All books are featured in the sale at $4.95 each. This sale is open to all (customers do not need to be an Audible member to participate) and is set to end on Tuesday, December 2nd at 11:59 PM ET.

Here's the link to Dead But Not Forgotten on Audible

And here's links to samples from all the Sookie Stackhouse world stories! Happy Listening!

 

https://soundcloud.com/audible/another-dead-fairy

https://soundcloud.com/audible/borderline-dead

https://soundcloud.com/audible/dont-be-cruel

https://soundcloud.com/audible/extreme-makeover-vamp-edition

https://soundcloud.com/audible/knit-a-sweater-out-of-sky

https://soundcloud.com/audible/love-story

https://soundcloud.com/audible/nobodys-business

https://soundcloud.com/audible/taproot

Luna's story!!!  (Just thought I'd point it out ... ;-))  https://soundcloud.com/audible/the-bat-signal

https://soundcloud.com/audible/the-million-dollar-hunt

https://soundcloud.com/audible/the-real-santa-claus

https://soundcloud.com/audible/the-sun-the-moon-the-stars

https://soundcloud.com/audible/tyger-tyger

https://soundcloud.com/audible/what-a-dream-i-had

https://soundcloud.com/audible/widowers-walk

Free "Love Story" featuring Adele Hale Stackhouse, Sookie's Gran!

Oooooh! Look a fab free story on audio by the brilliant Jeanne C. Stein!

It wasn't until the death of her Gran, Adele Hale Stackhouse, that Sookie learned the secret of her own ancestry: her true grandfather was a part-human fairy. Now, for the first time, Adele's long-hidden journal reveals how she and Fintan met - and how they loved. "Love Story" by Jeanne C. Stein is one of 15* brand-new tales contained in Dead but Not Forgotten: Stories from the World of Sookie Stackhouse, edited by Charlaine Harris and Toni L.P. Kelner.  

Listen to a sample of "Love Story" here

And, I've just discovered to my joy, Audible stories can be listened to on Kindle! (Even my old first gen one :-))

Yay! That's going to make my upcoming four hour coach journey much more bearable (can't read without getting nauseous in cars or coaches :-()

*I may have mentioned this (or y'know, shouted about it in delight from the rooftops *g*) ... I've also got a story - The Bat-Signal, about Luna Garza - in this fab anthology! *Bounces* ;-D

ETA: You can listen to a (4 minute) sample of Luna's tale here on Audible's sound cloud! Yay! 

And there's samples of all the other stories too - Click on the links below to listen :-)

"Another Dead Fairy" by Miranda James (featuring Claude & Claudia Crane)

"Borderline Dead" by Nicole Peeler (featuring Desiree Dumas)

"Don't Be Cruel" by Bill Crider (featuring Bubba)

"Extreme Makeover Vamp Edition" by Leigh Evans (featuring Bev & Todd)

"Knit a Sweater Out of Sky" by Seanan McGuire (featuring Amelia) 

"Nobody's Business" by Rachel Caine (featuring Kevin Pryor & Kenya Jones)

"Taproot" by Jeffrey J. Mariotte (featuring Andy Bellefleur)

"The Million-Dollar Hunt" by Jonathan Maberry (featuring Mustapha Khan)

"The Real Santa Claus" by Leigh Perry (featuring Diantha) 

"The Sun, The Moon, and The Stars" by Dana Cameron (featuring Pam Ravenscroft) 

"Tyger, Tyger" by Christopher Golden (featuring Quinn)

"What a Dream I Had" by Nancy Holder (featuring Alcide Herveaux)

"Widower's Walk" by MaryJanice Davidson (featuring Eric Northman) 

Sekrit Project, sekrit no longer - Dead But Not Forgotten.

 

Woot! Sekrit Project, sekrit no longer! *Pops Bubbly* I'm thrilled and honoured and excited to be part of this wonderful anthology. It's filled with fab stories by lots of my fav authors - just look at that stellar line-up below - and, even more exciting, the stories are all about Charlaine Harris' (one of my writerly heroes!) amazing characters from her FANG-TASTIC Sookie Stackhouse books.

My story is about Luna Garza, werebat, and I was over the moon (sorry, couldn't resist *g*) when I was asked to contribute. I adore the Sookie Stackhouse world and it was super fun* playing in one of my all time favourite author's literary sandbox. It's also been a true honour and I'm grateful to Charlaine for asking me to do so. I hope I've done both her and Luna proud. :-)


Now, if you thought it couldn't get any better, just look at that AWESOME cover by Lisa Desmini!

And here (from the press release) is that stellar line-up of fab authors and the stories they've written about Charlaine's amazing characters! This is one anthology I can't wait to hear/read! (even if I wasn't in it *g*)

Charlaine Harris' smash-hit Sookie Stackhouse series may have reached its conclusion, but the world of Bon Temps, Louisiana, lives on in this all-new collection of 15 stories. Written by a killer lineup of authors, including New York Timesbest-sellers Rachel Caine, MaryJanice Davidson, Jonathan Maberry and Seanan McGuire, and with introductions read by Charlaine herself, Dead but Not Forgotten puts your favorite characters center stage.

The stories included in Dead but Not Forgotten are:
"Nobody's Business" by Rachel Caine (featuring Kevin Pryor & Kenya Jones)
"Tyger, Tyger" by Christopher Golden (featuring Quinn)
"The Real Santa Claus" by Leigh Perry (featuring Diantha)
"Taproot" by Jeffrey J. Mariotte (featuring Andy Bellefleur)
"Knit a Sweater Out of Sky" by Seanan McGuire (featuring Amelia)
"Love Story" by Jeanne C. Stein (featuring Adele Hale Stackhouse)
"The Million-Dollar Hunt" by Jonathan Maberry (featuring Mustapha Khan)
"Borderline Dead" by Nicole Peeler (featuring Desiree Dumas)
"Extreme Makeover Vamp Edition" by Leigh Evans (featuring Bev & Todd)
"Don't Be Cruel" by Bill Crider (featuring Bubba)
"What a Dream I Had" by Nancy Holder (featuring Alcide Herveaux)
"Another Dead Fairy" by Miranda James (featuring Claude & Claudia Crane)
"The Bat-Signal" by Suzanne McLeod (featuring Luna)
"The Sun, The Moon, and The Stars" by Dana Cameron (featuring Pam Ravenscroft)
"Widower's Walk" by MaryJanice Davidson (featuring Eric Northman)

Dead But Not Forgotten is narrated by Johanna Parker, the longtime voice of the Sookie Stackhouse audiobooks, with introductions read by Charlaine Harris, and was edited by Charlaine Harris and Toni L.P. Kelner.

Dead But Not Forgotten releases on May 13, 2014 through Audible - pre-order link is here. 

There's going to be a hardcover version released on Nov. 25, 2014, too. Cover right ---> :-)

Full press release in the Wall Street Journal here. (!!! *g*)


*Also, super-scary, nerve-wracking, but ultimately a fantastic challenge! I learned a lot about my craft writing Luna's story, and among other things, I now know a lot more about bats and Louisiana than I ever did before :-D

Reading Matters!

I love seeing what other folk are reading (yep, I'm nosy like that *g*) so I thought I'd do a quick post to share my February reads with you. Oh, and maybe I had an ulterior motive, in that I decided to be really evil and make you all Green-Eyedwith an attack of the jealously Demons,when you see what fab books* a certain author gave me to read after I begged, pleaded and promised them my first born asked them nicely :-D

I LOVED all of the books I read this month with a passion (it doesn't always happen that way, but I choose not to talk about those), and if you're already a fan of these authors, then these books are a must have!  If the authors are new to you, then why not give them a try, hopefully you'll love them too. :-)

Mercy Blade- Faith Hunter ( I ♥ Jane & Beast)
Bite Me- Christopher Moore (ROFLMAO!)
*Enclave- Ann Aguirre (Wonderful, heartwrenching characters in a fascinating, dangerous future world)
*Aftermath- Ann Aguirre (made me cry ... now, need Endgame so bad)
Blast from the Past- Toni L. P. Kelner (A truly clever, engaging mystery)
Blue Diablo- Ann Aguirre (Makes me want to visit Mexico! + I ♥ Butch *g*)
Kitty Goes to War- Carrie Vaughn (Ooh! Cormac! Wow!)
The Fallen Blade- Jon Courtenay Grimwood (Brilliant historical fantasy with a different take on vamps)
Green-Eyed Demon- Jaye Wells - (special category; crit partner book, has my all time fav scene EVAH! Congrats, Jaye on GED's release! Yay!)

Home Improvement: Undead Edition- Editors: Charlaine Harris and Toni L.P. Kelner (I've always felt extremely privileged, and awed, for my little pixie story to be with all the fabulous stories in this book, even more so now I've read the rest *pinches herself*)

So that's 9 wonderfully, engrossing books (though, gross might be a more appropriate adjective for parts of Enclave *shudders*. Ann Aguirre is a truly EVIL, BRILLIANT AUTHOR! You will be desperate to finish this book to find out WHAT HAPPENS!) for this month, and 13* fantastic short stories, which is less than my January total, but still good going.

So how about all of you. What great books have you read and loved in February?

Oh, and of course, the book I'm really looking forward to reading next is the one in my current celebratory giveaway - River Marked by Patricia Briggs. Can't wait! *g* The giveaway is still live until midnight (GMT) 3rd March. To be in with a chance of winning, all you have to do is tell me your favourite cake/cookie. But, please, don't read the comments already made, there's only so much drool my blog can take *g*

Plus check out my blog's sidebar for details of how you could win copies of The Bitter Seed of Magic #3, and The Cold Kiss of Death #2on my blog's sidebar. Go give a leprechaun a kiss for luck and enter. *g*

*There are 14 stories in Home Improvement:Undead Edition, but I've already read mine a trillion times, so I gave it a miss this read through *g*

Pixies are Go!!

So way back in February I teased mentioned I was writing a Spellcrackers short story, and that it had pixies in it ... well, I'm super stoked to say that the story has been accepted, and is going to be published in the next urban fantasy anthology edited by the wonderful Charlaine Harris and the fabulous Toni L. P. Kelner! Yay!

*Does the super excited happy dance*

As I'm sure you all know, Charlaine and Toni have already edited two fantastic anthologies together - 'Wolfsbane and Mistletoe', and 'Death's Excellent Vacation' - and this new one due out August 2011 is called 'Home Improvement: Undead Edition', which you won't be surprised to find out is all about how those of the supernatural persuasion go about improving - or otherwise - their homes *g*.

I can't wait to find out what Sookie Stackhouse has been up to! And look at those names on the cover; there's going to be some great stories to read by some of my favourite authors :-).

I had a lot of fun writing my pixie story, and I hope everyone who reads it enjoys it as much as I did creating it. Oh, and just in case you were wondering, there's no spoilers for the Spellcrackers books, as the story is about when Genny takes a job to evict some problematic pixies, and is set 6 months before the beginning of The Sweet Scent of Blood, so it's sort of a mini prequel.

And don't forget if you haven't read The Cold Kiss of Death yet, then you can tell me about a scary book you've read to be in with a chance at winning a copy here :-)