Second, I have created this special badge for those who want to share the Naked David Boreanaz love.
What does it mean? Naked David Boreanaz symbolizes our aspirations and dreams, our hopes and fears, and our humanity. NDB is fluffy kittens and hugs, and it's also dark and dangerous. Sometimes it's Angel, and sometimes it's Angelus, but it's always fantabulous.
Naked David Boreanaz is an ideal, the standard by which all others are measured. Sure, some fail miserably, but then there are those moments of dazzling, sparkly Naked David Boreanaz in all our lives.
Please feel free to copy the badge and spread the word.
You've got until tomorrow (Saturday) night to enter my contests (listed in the right sidebar).
Kimberly Swan reviews Jaye Wells' Red-Headed Stepchild. "Sabina Kane was born the mixed-blood daughter of a vampire and a mage. It was a forbidden pairing, and one that Sabina has paid for since the day she was born." (Darque Reviews) Read author Stacia Kane's really excellent rant defending Urban Fantasy. "It just frustrates me a little, I admit, to see the genre I love so much reduced to 'They're all alike; they're all just rich vampires who own nightclubs and sleep on designer sheets,' or whatever. When there are so many stories and world and characters out there, and so many more coming. When I personally feel like we're on the cusp of something so much bigger." Read a summary of and chapter from Stacia Kane's Personal Demons. "When psychological counselor Megan Chase promises listeners to her new radio call-in show she'll slay their personal demons, they believe her. So do the personal demons. "
Congrats to my pal, Caridad Pineiro, for the wonderful reviews coming in for her just released novel, Fury Calls. Read an excerpt: "He had amazing ice blue eyes and when he smiled, a sexy grin dragged a dimple out on the right side of his handsome face. She smiled back, picked up her glass of tequila and downed it in one gulp, wincing at the strength of the straight liquor."
Review of Fury Calls by Caridad Pineiro. "Readers rejoice! The Calling series is back with more dynamic characters and a particularly chilling storyline, where passions and hopes are profoundly heartfelt. Caridad Pineiro has struck gold one again, as this incomparable story is a winner on every level." (CataRomance)
Read a description of and an excerpt from Cynthia Eden's upcoming release, Immortal Danger. "Once, Maya Black was a kick-ass cop patrolling the streets of L.A. She still keeps the city safe, but nowadays her bad guys of choice include demons, werewolves, and assorted nocturnal scum. Something Maya knows a thing or two about. She’s a vampire—and not thrilled about it. Payback meet bitch."
Here's the cover of Christine Warren's April release, You're So Vein. Read a summary: "Ava Markham is beautiful, savvy, chic, and more at home with Kate Spade than with the idea of fangs and fur. She can’t get quite used to the fact that some of closest friends have crossed over to the Other side." (You can also read excerpts of her other books at her publisher's page.)
Review of Angel Unaware by Elizabeth Sinclair. "It's warm, witty, with some incredibly satisfying moments. It was never too preachy and the final resolution was both satisfying and entertaining." (Fresh Fiction)
TELEVISION
Review of "Supernatural" starring Jensen Ackles and Jared Paladecki. "A suicidal, living teddy bear, an invisible teen staking out the woman’s locker room, a geek engaged to a beauty queen, and an Italian sub (with jalapenos) that only a cursed Babylonian coin can deliver…must be something Supernatural." (Examiner)
MOVIES
I predicted the zombie trend years ago, but no one paid any attention. Sometimes it's hard to be a visionary. Anyway, Megan Fox, Josh Brolin, and John Malkovich will get their brain-eating on in "Jonah Hex." "In 'Hex,' Fox will play a gun-wielding babe who helps track a voodoo doctor (Malkovich) trying to raise an army of zombies." (Los Angeles Times) You know, we can send men to the moon, but plastic surgeons can't figure out a way to keep collagen-injected lips from flipping upwards like fish lips, which just goes to show how screwed up our priorities are.
GRATUITOUS VIDEO OF THE WEEK
We sadly come to the conclusion of our very special David Boreanaz Week. See, even the song is sad. It's a sad, sad song for a sad, sad end to DB videos.
Watch a trailer for Hunted, P.C. and Kristin Cast's new novel in their House of Night series.
My pal, Mario Acevedo, author of the Felix Gomez books, always comes up with fantastic book trailers. They rock out and they're totally Legoliciousness. He does it again with a trailer for Jailbait Zombie.
Read a new review of my first novel, Happy Hour at Casa Dracula. "...an entertaining, upbeat, sassy novel driven forth by one very individualistic heroine. I’d say the strength of this novel, more than the plot and the rest of the characters, is the heroine." (Blog Critics) Read a review of Devon Monk's Magic to the Bone. "Allie Beckstrom has been given the best training possible in detecting the misuse of magic and the opportunity to work with her father in a large corporation he founded. Instead, Allie has turned her back on her father and his fortune. She works for anyone who needs her help to expose those who misuse their magic to make someone else bear the burden of that use." (Fresh Fiction)
Read a summary of and excerpt from Shirley Damsgaard's The Witch's Grave. "Cupid has cast his spell on good witch Ophelia Jensen. The practical, pragmatic, law-abiding librarian has just begun letting down her hair with Stephen Larsen, the author of some of the most scandalous criminal exposés ever written.
Terry Spear, author of Destiny of the Wolf, guest blogs about the appeal of shapeshifters. "Many stories show werewolves living in our society, some as a fantasy element, some where they are more closely related to the old werewolf tales-man hates his being a werewolf, can’t remember what he does in the middle of the night, dead bodies everywhere." (Love Romance Passion)
Read author Catherine Karp's review of The Girl's Guide to Vampires by Barb Karg. "Karg also explores the pros and cons to becoming a vampire, which is where the girly side shows the most (ie, she discusses how bikinis and tanning salons will no longer be a desirable option for you if you become an immortal)." (Suburban Vampire) While you're there, take Catherine's poll on vampire lore.
Vampire Wire is very happy to have Theresa Meyers here today to talk about Salvation of the Damned, which was released this week. Theresa's a debut novelist, but she's a long-time writer with years of experience as a journalist and a publicist, she lives in the Pacific Northwest. She lives and breathes writing and her company, Blue Moon Communications, specializes in promoting fiction writers.
She answers my questions about her own writing and the challenges a writers faces in promoting her work. Perhaps when she drops by, she'll tell us how she got Pierce Brosnan to model for her book cover.
Theresa is also giving away a copy of Salvation of the Damned this week! To enter, leave a comment telling us if there's an actor or actress that you always associate with a fictional character. Simple as that: is Lestat more Tom Cruise or Stuart Townsend or someone else?
The contest runs through Saturday night, and the winner will be drawn at random.
-------------------------------------
MARTA: Hi, Theresa, and congratulations on the release of your new novella! Would you tell us a little about Salvation of the Damned?
THERESA: Thanks for inviting me! I always love to talk books. OK, let’s be real honest with each other, I just like to talk, period. I’ve been told it’s part of my Italian genetics. First, let me be honest. I’m a vampire virgin. That’s not to say that I’m a virgin and in fact a vampire, but rather that I’ve never written a vampire story before and this is my first.
Salvation of the Damned is a vampire romance novella from Silhouette Nocturne Bites. Every thousand years, a plague ravages the vampire population, bringing them to near extinction. In forty-eight hours, a virus will turn all vampires into their true chronological age and kill them all, unless the right woman is sacrificed. It is a ritual that vampire Raphael has made before. Every millennium, he finds the perfect woman and seduces her so thoroughly that she willing gives her own life and soul to save his kind. But only once in six thousand years has he fallen in love with his victim...
Then he sees Evaline St. Croix at a Mardi Gras costume party and feels the same raw need he felt for Isabeau. Eva feels an instant connection to Raphael, too, as if they've known each other forever. His voice and touch bring strange memories to her mind...and an explosive desire to her body. Could Eva be the reincarnation of Raphael's lost love? And if she is, has he found her again only to lose her once more?
MARTA: You write in a variety of genres, including historical, mystery, and contemporary. What are the challenges/rewards of writing paranormal?
THERESA: Paranormals give me the opportunity to truly indulge my imagination. Really, my characters can do anything (well, ok, within the boundaries of their own world). I’ve always been a fan of paranormal things. I was completely addicted to "The X-Files"when I was young, always read books like Madeline L’Engle’s and the Narnia series, so thinking out of the box really isn’t a total stretch for me. In fact, sometimes I don’t think there is any box, it’s more like thinking out of the swimming pool, and diving into the hot tub. Different change in temperature, and the experience is different, but essentially the same medium.
The challenges of writing in paranormal are in keeping things consistent and fresh. You don’t want to do something other people have done, and yet if you draw from mythology to create your characters and your worlds you’re bound to cross paths with what others are writing too. We all draw from the same well.
MARTA: What was the inspiration for Salvation of the Damned?
THERESA: The vampires in my story, came about for two reasons. First I had this incredibly vivid dream of a man and woman dancing together in a candlelit ballroom where everything disappeared around them into a white mist until it was just the two of them. It later somehow evolved during the same dream into a casket with a fanged skeleton that seemed to morph into her, almost as if invisible spiders were weaving a web that filled out to become her body, and he was waiting there beside her. Weird, I know. I’m still not sure what I ate for dinner that night. But it was so intense that I woke up and had to write it down.
Once I wrote those two scenes, I started to think about it. Then I asked one simple question. Why is it you never hear of vampires that are thousands of years old? They are always hundreds of years old. If they are immortal, why is that? The story sort of grew from there with me thinking of biological reasons that it could happen. Viruses can bring down the biggest, strongest predator, why not a vampire?
MARTA: Most of your work is short fiction. Are you happiest in this format, or is there a full-length novel that you’re itching to write?
THERESA: Actually, I usually tend to write longer books most of the time. It’s just the shorter books that are getting published at the moment. Writing shorter is actually just as difficult as writing a 400-page novel. You’re pushed to create full, well-motivated characters and a full dilemma and resolution in just 5 chapters instead of 20 to 25 chapters. It can be fairly intense. When I write longer fiction I have more time to expand the plot, indulge in subplots and secondary characters that echo what’s happening to my main characters. I can get intricate with the story, adding in research details to really make the character’s experience authentic.
For instance, when I wrote The Spellbound Bride, a Scottish historical that was finalist in the American Title II contest, I spent two years researching all about the witch hunts and the North Berwick Witch Trial in Scotland right at the end of the Elizabethan period. You wouldn’t believe all the weird stuff they did to extract confessions from those poor women and the high level of political intrigue that went on within the nobility.
Right now I’m working on several full length projects - another Scottish historical, two more paranormals and a YA novel. I like to multi-task.
MARTA: You’re writing fiction, as well as running Blue Moon Communications. How do you balance doing publicity for others with your own creative urges?
THERESA: Good question. In my mind it’s two different jobs. Lots of people work more than one job. In fact, for the longest time I tried very hard to keep my PR work and writing completely separate. I worked corporate PR and agency PR. The fiction writing was something just for me that was personal and separate from my education and day job. It wasn’t until my critique partner Cherry Adair roped me into doing PR for her book Hide and Seek that I actually decided to stop fighting it and integrated the two.
I knew what the experience was from a writer’s point of view. I knew what happened as a journalist and a PR professional. I merged the two, creating an agency that was only going to focus on fiction authors (because I’d already done all the consumer product PR for years and had gotten to the point where I wanted a little more challenge) and that took what really worked in consumer product PR and applied it to books. So far it’s been a successful combination and one that compliments what an in-house promotions department does, rather than duplicating any efforts.
MARTA: Okay, answer quickly without thinking. Spike or Lestat? Vampires or werewolves? AC/DC or Evanescence? Jack Daniels or a wine spritzer? Gerard Butler or Brad Pitt? Hello, Kitty or Bart Simpson?
THERESA:Lestat (I have a thing for European history that he’d understand). Vamps (weres make me think of my dog too much and I just can’t seem to go there). AC/DC("You Shook Me All Night Long" is “our” song for my husband and me. We danced to it on our first date.) Wine Spritzer (because I’m such a total lightweight when it comes to alcohol). Gerard or Brad-sheesh you’re seriously gonna make me pick? Either! Both! Is there any reason I can’t have both? Bart, only because he’s got snark down to an art and I like my cats a little less pink and cutsy.
MARTA: I’m one of those sad authors cluelessly trying to publicize my books. Yeah, we’re all on networking sites futilely pitching to one another before we cry ourselves to sleep at night. Okay, maybe it isn’t as dire as that, but can you give us any advice that we might not know already, or else we’ve heard it, but don’t believe it?
THERESA: There are a few things I always tell authors that I’ve found to be consistent truths:
1) Not every tool is going to work for every author. Pick the tools that are right for you. What I mean is that everything is a tool, bookmarks, ads in magazines, websites, blogs, contests, speaking engagements, book signings, etc. You have to really look at yourself and figure out where are your strengths and limitations. If you can’t travel much because of a job or family obligations, then going on a book tour probably isn’t the best idea for you.
Hate to speak in front of people? Then don’t force yourself to. Love to speak in front of people? Then give workshops on what you know. Be consistent in your messages because it takes upwards of 25 impressions of the same message to get people to act.
2) Don’t spend money on ANYTHING unless you have three good uses for it. And by good uses I mean solid things that make sense, not just because another author in your chapter did it and you want to keep up. For instance, a lot of authors ask, should I get bookmarks? I answer, what are you going to use them for? Doorstops aren’t a good idea. If you’ve got it set up to mail them out to readers’ groups, you are going to offer them as giveaways to fans who write in to help you build your newsletter list, and you have booksellers that have asked for them, then those are three good reasons. Without three good reasons, skip it.
This does not apply to websites. You automatically have three good reasons for a professional website because without an Internet presence people (and that includes media) don’t believe you're real. Media go to the web first when deciding to interview someone and you need a way to reach out to readers and the web is the most cost effective way to do it.
3) Remember when dealing with the media that they don’t care you’ve written a book. Fiction doesn’t count to them. You have to have some other hook to grab their attention. Use what you know from your day job, create a community angle with your story by volunteering or talking at schools, tap into your local-kid-makes-good angle or have it tie into a local event. Be persistent, but professional.
PR professionals often have to make 25 to 50 calls to get one interview so don’t get discouraged. And I don’t care what they say, EVERYTHING is on the record, so if you don’t want it quoted, don’t say it-even as a joke or an aside comment.
MARTA: Where can readers find out more about your books and keep up with your news?
THERESA: Readers can find me online at my new redesigned website. I blog regularly with my American Title sisters at Title Wave. T
They can find Salvation of the Damned (and get it at a discount!) at Nocturne Bites. Thanks so much for inviting me, this was a lot of fun!
------------------------------
Thanks to Theresa for telling us about her new book and for her great advice!
Congratulations to Carolyn Jean Jackson, who has the fun The Trillionth Pageblog, on selling two books in a series to Bantam Dell! Way to go, Carolyn Jean, and please keep us updated on your books!
If you'd like to know more about Theresa Meyers and have another chance of winning a prize, she'll be here at Vampire Wire tomorrow.
Read an interview with fabulous Patricia Altner of Patricia's Vampire Notes. "I've had this thing for vampire stories since reading Stoker's Dracula and seeing Frank Langella's sexy version on Broadway. My thought was to focus on reviewing fiction about vampires and to post any information on the subject that I thought others like myself would find of interest. Now, of course, I include all paranormal fiction, but Patricia's Vampire Notes was the first name that came to mind and I've stuck with it. " (Erotic Horizon)
Review of Kiss of a Dark Moon by Sharie Kohler. "In this one, lycans are usually the big bad monsters that actually prey on humans for sport and kill. We therefore have a bunch of Americans who band together to play hunters in an organization called the National Organization Against Ancient And Evolving Lycanthropes or NODEA." (Mrs. Giggles)
Review of Destiny of the Wolf by Terry Spear. "Terry Spear weaves paranormal, suspense, and romance together in one non-stop rollercoaster of passion and adventure. I was pleasantly surprised to find myself enjoying a protagonist werewolf plot..." (Love Romance Passion)
Review of Angels' Blood by Nalini Singh. "In the interest of full disclosure: it is not a secret that I am a Nalini Singh fangirl, more like a nalinisingh-aholic -I think she is a truly gifted writer and I love her Psy/Changeling series." (The Book Smugglers)
In honor of my Kiwi e-pal, author Amanda Ashby, it's David Boreanaz week here at at Vampire Wire! Enjoy the GVD.
Okay, I think I have to watch These Girls with David Boreanaz playing a "pervert pothead." I've never even heard of it before, but I had to dutifully look through many videos to find something to amuse Amanda. I like the Amazon review titled "More than David Boreanaz Naked."
Amanda's going to give away a copy of Zombie Queen of Newbury High to one lucky reader. The contest runs through Saturday evening and Amanda will choose the winner.
To enter the contest, Amanda wants to know what's the dumbest thing you've ever done for love.
Amanda lives in New Zealand, so she'll stop by whenever it's daytime there.
Welcome, Amanda!
------------------------------------
Last time Marta invited me to do a guest blog, she very kindly indulged my David Boreanaz obsession by putting a lovely photo of him sitting half naked in the bath – ah, happy days.
Anyway, since then she has often commented about how many Google hits that particular post continues to get. Now I would like to think it was because people were Googling "Amanda Ashby, writer extraordinaire" but I know the truth is a lot more simple. They’re all looking for naked David Boreanaz photos. And who can blame them when he is just so darn pretty?
Of course when I told a friend about the naked DB theory and how good it was for increasing blog hits she immediately tried it with dismissal results, which leads me to the conclusion that you can’t just say it, you really have to mean it. And boy do I mean it.
But anyway, I’m not here to talk about David Boreanaz – that was just a cunning ploy to get Marta to put up another hot picture for me to drool over (I’m sneaky like that!).
Instead, I’m here to talk about new young adult book, Zombie Queen of Newbury High, which – in a total stretch of the imagination – is about a Buffy obsessed teenage girl called Mia, who tries to avoid getting dumped by her prom date by doing a love spell. Unfortunately somehow she ends up accidentally turning her entire senior year into zombies. Whoops.
Even worse, Mia suddenly discovers that unless she can find a cure, not only will everyone become living dead just in time for prom, but she’ll be the first course in their new flesh-only diet.
Of course my husband, who is a die hard zombie fan thought it was hilarious that I, Miss-watch-scary-movies-from-behind-the-couch-with-my-fingers-firmly-over-my-eyes, was attempting to do horror. But the truth is that this isn’t a horror book. I just wanted to write about what it would feel like for a normal girl to find herself in a completely abnormal situation. Also, I knew I didn’t want her to have any super powers to make things better, since let’s face it, there’s only one Buffy - the rest of us just have to make do with being scared!
So to celebrate the release of Zombie Queen of Newbury High, I’d love to hear what’s the dumbest thing you’ve ever done for love – and extra points for if you can beat Mia’s efforts. And extra, extra points if you can get the words Naked David Boreanaz into your answers!!!! (What? I told you I was sneaky like that!)
----------------------
Thanks, Amanda!
To learn more about Amanda and her books, visit her website and her blog. You can also find her on MySpace.
This Gratuitous Video of the Day goes out to Amanda. Best wishes on the success of your new book!
Thanks to everyone who entered my Week O' Contests for books by Larissa Ione, Kate Perry, Jessica Andersen, and Carolyn Jewell. Thanks, too, to Hachette Books for providing prizes for my contests.
All of your answers were great and I'm going to look into compiling a paranormal song list, as well as getting interviews with some of your fave authors.
The winners (chosen at random) are:
- LISA, who suggested Credence Clearwater Revival's"Bad Moon Rising" as werewolf music.
-BARB P., who thinks weres would like Warren Zevon's "Werewolves in London." (This song contains the great lyric: "I saw a werewolf drinking a pina colada at Trader Vic's/His hair was perfect.")
-JANE, who would not trust a succubus as far as she could kick drop her.
-KRISTIN, who would like to be a vampire named Sin, rather than one named Abby.
-CARMEN R., who is not inclined to be BFFs with Sparkle Stardust from Nina Bangs' Castle of Dreams series.
Weiners, please send an e-mail to me (marta AT martaacosta DOT com) with your mailing address, so I can send your prizes off. *************************
Be sure to come back to Vampire Wire this coming week! The wonderful Amanda Ashby is guest blogging tomorrow about her soon-to-be-released novel, Zombie Queen of Newbury High. She'll also be giving away a copy of her book to a lucky Vampire Wire reader.
On Wednesday, Theresa Meyers will be here to talk about her March release, Salvation of the Damned. We're having a contest for this new book, too!
What does it mean? Naked David Boreanaz symbolizes our aspirations and dreams, our hopes and fears, and our humanity. NDB is fluffy kittens and hugs, and it's also dark and dangerous. Sometimes it's Angel, and sometimes it's Angelus, but it's always fantabulous.
with 
