Late Friday Edition with Blog/Authors Conference, Contest Weiner & Free Reads!

Okay, this is a late edition, but I had a deadline to meet.  Of course, as a novelist, most of my deadlines are self-imposed, but I'm a pretty strict boss.  I didn't want to have to give myself a bad quarterly evaluation and miss out on my annual bonus, which is a poster of a kitten dangling from a tree and says, "Keep hangin' in there!"

Thank heavens I decided to read the post with the great title over at Dirty Sexy Books!  Because Rebecca Baumann has info about the fab Book Bloggers and Authors Online Conference and I'd kinda forgotten that I'm supposed to be part of this.  (My brain took a detour because I was busy on my new novel.)  I think I'm like the headline speaker:

How Can Bloggers and Authors do it Better? - 9:00 - 10:30pm EST, 8/7
Wrapping up the ideas covered during the conference and discussing the future of Blogger author relations.
Panelists:
Marta Acosta - Author and Vampire Wire
Moderator: Terry Kate

For information about the event, visit the conference site.  Be sure to sign up if you want to hear me say stuff that sounds like it's true, but might not be.  Or it might.  I like to mix things up.

Here are some contest weiners!  First in the contest for Charlaine Harris's Definitely Dead, the winner is:

Meredith

who is on Team Eric and is completely over Bill Compton. Congratulations, Meredith!

Tonight is the deadline for the contest for a galley of Haunted Honeymoon, the fourth novel in my Casa Dracula series, or Happy Hour at Casa Dracula.

Tomorrow night is the deadline for the contest for Angelology by Danielle Trussoni, in honor of the paperback release of The Slippery Art of Book Reviewing by Mayra Calvani and Anne K. Edwards.

FREE READ:  Mayra, who is a novelist as well as a reviewer and nonfiction writer, has very generously offered a "A potpourri of shorts stories and excerpts by Twilight Times Books authors Anne K. Edwards, Aaron Laazar and moi!"  Click here if you'd like to read these stories for free.

Juno Editor Paula Guran has some interesting (but not necessarily "interesting" in a good way) news about Dorchester Books and publishing in general. If you're a writer, you'll want to read the whole post as well as Paula's comments.

Dorchester — whose strongest division is romance, but who also published horror, westerns, etc. — is  dropping print publishing “in favor of an e-book/print-on-demand model effective with its September titles that are ’shipping’ now…the editorial team remains intact, but the number of titles released monthly will likely be reduced from over 30 to 25.”

I first noticed Dorcester when they released Leanna Renee Hieber's The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker and I hope that we will continue to see print copies of Leanna's books.

GRATUITOUS VIDEOS OF THE DAY

For our contest winner, Meredith, who is on Team Eric...Video by Yogi4santi set to Ke$sha's "Your Love is My Drug."



For those more interested in tall, dark and deeply damaged...it is Friday, which makes it Guyday and guyliner day. Video by TheRAFrenzy set to Muse's "Supermassive Black Hole."



Let's face it, nice girls shouldn't let themselves be glamoured by dead, murderous men...except when they look like Gerard Butler with rockstar hair. Video by oXGerryBerryx0 set to "Rapture" and I can't find the performer.

Upcoming Releases for Autumn

Yesterday, I ranted about file sharing sites and I'll address some of the comments, especially those by The Mighty Buzzard, later.  I think we all agree that adding fuzzy kittens to a rant gives it a charming piquancy.  Fluffy puppies would also do.

I've been curious about Dracula in Love by Karen Essex (to be released 8/10) and so I was glad to see a good review by Patricia Altner of Patricia's Vampire Notes:

It is instead an exquisite timeless tale of love and passion. Mina, while engaged to solicitor Jonathan Harker, has recurring visions of a lover very familiar to her although her memories are so hazy she cannot identify him. He carries her to a world in a place and time not connected to our own and begs her to remember the endless years they have had together.

Here's Karen's website

Here are some upcoming releases. I've gotten the cover graphics from fave and fabulous Fantastic Fiction.

Torment by Lauren Kate, to be released September 28, 2010.

Publisher's Summary:

Lucinda is sure that she and Daniel are meant to be together forever. Now they are forced apart in a desperate bid to save Luce from the Outcasts–immortals who want her dead. As she discovers more about her past lives, Luce starts to suspect that Daniel is hiding something. What if he has lied to her about their shared past? What if Luce is really meant to be with someone else?

Lauren Kate's website.

No Mercy (Dark Hunter Book 27) by Sherrilyn Kenyon, to be released September 1, 2010

Publisher's Summary:

Live fast, fight hard and if you have to die then take as many of your enemies with you as you can. That is the Amazon credo and it was one Samia lived and died by. Now in contemporary New Orleans, the immortal Amazon warrior is about to learn that there's a worse evil coming to slaughter mankind than she's ever faced before.

Shapeshifter Dev Peltier has stood guard at the front of Sanctuary for almost two hundred years and in that time, he's seen it all. Or so he thought. Now their enemies have discovered a new source of power- one that makes a mockery of anything faced to date. The war is on and Dev and Sam are guarding ground zero. But in order to win, they will have to break the most cardinal of all rules and pray it doesn't unravel the universe as we know it.

Sherrilyn Kenyon's website.

Kisses From Hell, anthology by Kelley Armstrong, Francesca Lia Block, Kristin Cast, Richelle Mead, and Alyson Noel, to be released September 1, 2010.

Publisher's Summary:

From a fugitive vampire forced to trust a boy who might work for the group bent on destroying her to the legendary romance of two immortals whose love compels them to risk everything, this heart-pounding collection brings new meaning to the words "love you forever." Whether you're into romances that are dark and moody or light and fun, these stories will quench that insatiable thirst for enchanting tales of the beautiful undead.

 

Nightshade by Andrea Cremer, to be released on October 19.

Publisher's Summary:

Calla Tor has always known her destiny: After graduating from the Mountain School, she'll be the mate of sexy alpha wolf Ren Laroche and fight with him, side by side, ruling their pack and guarding sacred sites for the Keepers. But when she violates her masters' laws by saving a beautiful human boy out for a hike, Calla begins to question her fate, her existence, and the very essence of the world she has known. By following her heart, she might lose everything - including her own life. Is forbidden love worth the ultimate sacrifice?

Andrea Cremer's website.

Side Jobs: Stories from the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher, to be released on October 26, 2010

Publisher's Summary:

The tales range from the deadly serious to the absurdly hilarious. Also included is a new, never-before-published novella that takes place after the cliff-hanger ending of the new April 2010 hardcover, Changes. This is a must-have collection for every devoted Harry Dresden fan as well as a perfect introduction for readers ready to meet Chicago's only professional wizard.

Jim Butcher's website. The nice news here is that James Marsters, aka Spike in Buffy, has signed on to read the audiobook of Side Jobs.

Paranormalcy by Kiersten White, to be released on September 1, 2010.

Publisher's Summary:

Evie's always thought of herself as a normal teenager, even though she works for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, her ex-boyfriend is a faerie, she's falling for a shape-shifter, and she's the only person who can see through paranormals' glamours.

But Evie's about to realize that she may very well be at the center of a dark faerie prophecy promising destruction to all paranormal creatures.

Kiersten White's website.

I noticed a lot of interesting young adult novels coming up, so I'll list some more of them tomorrow or next week.

GRATUITOUS VIDEOS OF THE DAY

In the comments yesterday, someone brought up a point I've been thinking about.  Do television shows/movie's producers like fan videos?  I think they see them as free advertising, which is why Supernatural featured fan videos at conventions.  I'm trying to find quotes from producers. Googling "Eric Kripe" and "fan videos" gets way too many miscellaneous results. If someone can find a quote from him, please tell me!

Anyway, we continue the theme of Supernatural fans making the best tribute videos. (Video by Bones16 set to the Cardigans' "My Favorite Game.")



A good video can take a schmaltzy song and make it work. (Video by PlasticPingU8 set to the Frou Frou's cover of "Holding Out for a Hero.")



A good video's not afraid to have a little fun. Video by Linnhe set to Wham's "I'm Your Man."

Rant Againt File Sharing & Supernatural Fans' Awesomeness -- & Fluffy Kittens

Let me tell you a story without any vampires, but with suckers and things that completely bite.  Most of you know about digital file sharing on the internet.  Well, it's pretty much devastated the music industry because so many people, especially young people, download all their music from sites that offer file sharing.  The people who write the songs don't get paid. The people who play the instruments and sing don't get paid.  The people who engineer and mix the sound don't get paid.  The cover design artist doesn't get paid.

The music industry is notoriously corrupt and perhaps that's what initially made people feel that it was somehow okay to download music without paying.  Bands now rely on concerts and merchandise for their income.

Now there are lots of people who say, "All information should be free."  But a novel is not information.  It is a product of labor, craft, and creativity.  Sometimes it is art. The sites that make file sharing available generate their income from the number of visitors.  The more they offer people --- whether porn or copyright violations of novels -- the more money they make for themselves.  So I'm not buying the whole bogus "all information should be free" argument.

Authors have to jump through hoops to get anything removed. First you have to find the downloads.  Then you have to fill out detailed forms.  You have to discover (and it's often hidden) the site contact information. 

Any successful writer, meaning any writer who has had a book published, has worked for years (and probably decades) to learn her craft and get a deal.  When people download a book on a so-called free site, it's exactly the same as going into our wallets and taking money.  It's exactly the same as dining at a restaurant and then stiffing the waitress.

I understand what it is to be so broke that you can't buy a book, because buying books was just a dream to me when I was growing up.  I'm going to say something shocking to Americans:  no one has a right to read a book they can't afford, just as they don't have a right to own a car they can't afford, or wear clothes they can't afford.  Wanting something does not give anyone the right to own it.

I have tech people tell me, "Well, authors will learn how to sell their books other ways, by offering other things."  (The Mighty Buzzard and I have discussed this.)  Uhm, should a restaurant give away free food and hope people will pay for the ambiance?  Will the tech guy come to my house and fix my computer and then try to sell me a pocket calculator in exchange?

If you love books, you won't illegally download or post them. You'll ask your friends not to do it either.  You'll do something to help us, because honestly authors can't do this on our own.  We need your support or we will have to give up writing and work at other jobs that do pay for our labor. We need you to say, "Yes, books are important and they are worth something."

I'm going to make a special effort to give credit where credit is due, starting with the videos I post.

I hope you have enjoyed the fluffy kittens.

GRATUITOUS VIDEOS OF THE DAY

Yesterday, I posted about the great quality of tribute videos created by Supernatural fans.  I wish other series's fans would learn from the best.  Good videos use the lyrics of a song with scenes that build a mood and drama, like this one by Winchester Team set to "I'm Not Jesus" by Apocalyptica and featuring Corey Taylor.



A great video shows such understanding of the show that it's used by the show's producers to promote it at conventions, like MissSupernatural's vid set to Kevin Rudolf's "Let It Rock."



A great video isn't afraid to go for the eye-candy set to a Britney Spears tune, like this GVD from Extremedival19.

Mayra Calvani's Review Tips & ANGELOLOGY Contest

Most of us depend on review bloggers to help us decide what books to buy and read -- and what books to pass on because they might not be our cuppa.  Now, I used to review, and I know how time-consuming and challenging it is to offer useful information to a reader.  As an author, I'm really grateful for reviewers for getting the word out and  appreciative of those who review thoughtfully without giving away spoilers.  Unfortunately, not all reviewers are reliable. Authors remember those "reviewers" who ask for free books and either paraphrase a summary, or never bother to review. (For the record, it costs time and money to send out a book.)

I'm very glad to have author and reviewer Mayra Calvani as my guest to give tips to reviewers and those who are considering reviewing.  Mayra's guide, The Slippery Art of Book Reviewing, co-authored by Anne K. Edwards, was named a ForeWord Best Book of the Year, and just came out in paperback.  Mayra's written a dozen fiction and non-fiction books, including children's books and paranormals like Sunstruck, and she's a regular review contributor to the New York Journal of Books.

Since Mayra is in Belgium, I'm going to give a copy of Angelology by Danielle Trussoni for a contest.  Read to the end of the post for contest details.

Welcome, Mayra!
-------------------------------------
The Ten Commandments of Book Reviewing

By Mayra Calvani

1. Thou shall have no other gods before the reader.

The review is not about the author, nor the publisher, and especially, not about you, the reviewer. Reviews are all about the reader. Don’t try to impress with pompous words in an attempt to glorify yourself or appear scholarly. Give readers simplicity and clarity. They’ll appreciate it. If they want verbose and fancy, they can read Shakespeare.

2. Thou shall not lie.

Honesty is what defines your trade. Without it, you’re nothing but sell copy. When you give facile praise or sugar-coat a book, sooner or later readers will take you for what you are: a phony. Furthermore, if you give facile praise to a poorly written book, you are perpetuating a bad writer's career, lowering the chances that a good writer may be published instead.

3. Thou shall not offend the author.

Just as honesty is important, so is tact. There’s no need to be harsh or mean. A tactfully written, well-meant negative review should offer the author insight into what is wrong with the book. Instead of saying, “This is a terrible novel!” say, “This book didn’t work for me for the following reasons…”

4. Thou shall not eat the evaluation.

Some fledgling reviewers write a long blurb of the book and leave out the evaluation. The evaluation is the most important part of a review. A summary of the plot is not an evaluation. Saying, “I really liked this book” is not an evaluation. The evaluation tells the reader what is good and bad about the book, and whether or not it is worth buying.

5. Thou shall not reveal spoilers.

Nobody likes to be told the ending of a movie before having watched it. The same thing is valid for a book. If you give spoilers in your review, not only do you lessen the reader’s reading experience but you also risk being sued by the publisher or author.

6. Thou shall honor grammar, syntax and punctuation.

Don’t be one of those reviewers who are more in love with the idea of seeing their name online than making sure their reviews are well written and thorough. Your reviews may hang around on the internet for years to come and will reflect on your level as a writer. Run a spell check, edit, revise and polish your review as if you were posting a short story. Get a good book on grammar and punctuation, take an online course or listen regularly to podcasts such as The Grammar Girl.

7. Thou shall honor deadlines.

If you join a review site where the turnaround for reviews is 3 weeks, then you should respect that agreement. If you promise the author to have the review ready in two months, you should honor this too. Be honest and straight forward from the beginning. If you’re so busy your turnaround is six months, make sure to let the person know. If for any reasons you cannot meet the deadline, contact the person and let him know. It’s your responsibility to maintain a doable schedule.

8. Thou shall not be prejudiced against thy neighbor.

Don't assume that a self-published or small press book is poorly written. Give it a fair chance and let it speak for itself. Likewise, never assume a book published by a major NY house has to be good. You'd be surprised by the high quality of some small press books by unknown authors as opposed to those written by big name authors whose titles are often in the bestseller lists. In general, most subsidy books are mediocre, but there are always exceptions. If you've had bad experiences with subsidy books, then don't request them nor accept them for review. If you decide to review one, though, don't be biased and give it a fair chance.

9. Thou shall not become an RC addict.

RC stands for Review Copy. Requesting RCs can get out of control. In fact, it can become addictive. You should be realistic about how many books you can review. If you don’t, pretty soon you’ll be drowning in more RCs that you can handle. When this happens, reading and reviewing can change from a fun, pleasurable experience into a stressful one. If you’re feeling frazzled because you have a tower of books waiting to be reviewed, learn to say NO when someone approaches you for a review and stop requesting RCs for a while. Unless you’re being paid as a staff reviewer for a newspaper or magazine, reviewing shouldn’t get in the way of your daily life.

10. Thou shall not steal.

Remember that the books you request are being sent to you in exchange for a review. Requesting review copies and not writing the reviews is, in one word: stealing. You'd be surprised at the number of 'reviewers' who, after having requested several books, suddenly "disappear." These people are not legitimate; they're crooks, plain and simple. If you have a valid reason for not reviewing a book, let the review site editor, author, publisher or publicist know. The same goes for piracy. "Reviewers" who request ebooks and later offer them as downloads from their sites are thieves. Integrity is part of the code of honor of a legitimate reviewer.
-----------------------------------

Thanks, Mayra! I agree with every single one of your reviewing commandments.

Visit Mayra's website.
Visit Mayra's Children's Fiction website.
Read my Q&A with Mayra.

CONTEST:  To win a copy of Angelology by Danielle Trussoni, just leave a comment about book reviewing.  Who has your favorite blog site?  Is there something you love in a review, or something you hate?  (I have an Issue with people who just paraphrase the book summary.) Would you like Mayra to answer a question?  The contest runs through August 9 and is limited to the U.S. Maybe Canada.  I haven't decided yet, but since I'm an honorary Canadian, I'd feel bad about leaving them out.

GRATUITOUS VIDEOS OF THE DAY

Okay, I've been posting vids from some of the newer shows, but honestly these fans need to take a few lessons from Supernatural fans about how to make a tribute: nuke the slideshow, nuke the Evanescence, forget the fancy graphics overlay, get rid of the extended intro credit and subtitles.  (We're not interested in  a video version of your glitter fan collage.) Include action, drama, romance, character, and match lyrics to scenes. Watch and learn.



Don't be afraid to be funny.



Crank up things with a totally bitchin song like "Hell's Bells" by AC/DC.

Celebration of Book Review Bloggers Week & HAUNTED HONEYMOON Contest

In the rundown to the release of my next novel, Haunted Honeymoon (Casa Dracula Book 4), I'll be looking for new reviews on blogs and I'll be a guest at blogs.  Like most authors, I absolutely rely on book bloggers to tell people about my book and to give me the opportunity to discuss my writing.

The internet offers opportunities for everyone to critique books.  The vast majority are happy to merely paraphrase the book's summary.  Some want a place to snark.  Others want to spread the love.  The special reviewers are those who see the themes, understand the style, and recognize strengths and weaknesses in both plot and narrative.  It isn't as simple as saying, "I liked this" or "I hated this." They help you really appreciate and enjoy books more.

Now, the good news is that anyone who reviews can develop and improve their skills.  Tomorrow I'll have author and reviewer Mayra Calvani here to give her Ten Commandments for Reviewers.  Please be sure to read her terrific advice if you review or are thinking about reviewing.

 I'll have a contest to celebrate the print publication of Mayra's new book, The Slippery Art of Book Reviewing, but since Mayra is in Belgium, I think I'll offer a prize here to US residents.  I've got a copy of Danielle Trussoni's Angelology that I'll give away.

It's no secret that one of my very favorite reviewers is Amanda at the fabulous Love Vampires.  As a blogger, I can trust her for new, smart reviews.  As an author, I love the fact that Amanda "gets" exactly what I am doing as an author.  Today she reviews Haunted Honeymoon, which is set to release on October 4.  (It will really be out at the end of September, but that's how publishing works.)

In Haunted Honeymoon Milagro faces her most dangerous challenge yet. She is framed for murder and kidnapped by an extremely unethical government scientist (think Dr. Frankenstein with a private security force and a 21st century laboratory) but she manages to rise above the bizarre in her usual inimitable fashion going on to finally sort out her feelings for ex-fiancé Oswald and her lover Ian as she stumbles towards her happy ending. The story is by turns a gripping page-turner as Milagro’s dramas take a turn for the deadly and a witty comedy as her character’s happy go-lucky personality deals with the fall out. The action and humour is balanced by Milagro’s character and relationship development – creating a perfect mixture of vampires, fun, danger and romance.

Utterly terrific and highly recommended reading, Haunted Honeymoon is well worth checking out.

CONTEST: I'm giving away one of the last few Advance Review Copies of Haunted Honeymoon OR Happy Hour at Casa Dracula (if you haven't read my books).  All you have to do is assure me that you'll review it somewhere:  mention it on your blog, your Facebook page, Amazon or Barnes & Noble, or wherever.  It doesn't have to be a book report, just a simple little blurb.  You can even say, "Marta Acosta sent me this autographed galley and her handwriting was really wonky and I'm still having nightmares!."  The contest is limited to the US unless you can give me an amazing reason I should spend my money mailing it to Antarctica.

The contest runs through Saturday evening.  I don't know what date that is, but I'm pretty sure it's in August.

Speaking of people who don't know the dates, Tor is giving away a bag o' paranormal romance and urban fantasy books and says the contest ends 8/2, Tuesday.  I'm pretty sure the 8/2 was supposed to be 8/3, which is tomorrow.  All you have to do is leave a comment on the post.  Go and enter!

Fangoria raves about Karen Essex's new book, Dracula In Love, which is due out from Doubleday on August 10.

Narrated by Mina Harker, DRACULA IN LOVE reveals the “the true story” that has remained Mina’s secret up until now. It’s a haunting, feminist portrayal of eternal love, forbidden desires and Victorian virtues, with all of Stoker’s original characters (with the exception of Renfield) present and a new light turned on some of his famous, unforgettable scenes.

Sarah J. Robbins at Publishers Weekly reports that erotic fiction has branched out into paranormal.

The possibilities available to writers of paranormal romance inspire innovative and often edgy decisions, says Berkley executive editor Cindy Hwang. Berkley Heat kicks off the fall with Joey Hill's Vampire Trinity (Sept.), which explores a ménage relationship in a paranormal world. Another threesome debuts with Anya Bast's Jeweled (Nov.), which details what happens when protagonist Evangeline is caught between two magic men.

Oh, no, I've got that Heart song stuck in my head now!  Get it out, get it out! Aghghhhhhhhhh......

And on that note, I'm going to have my coffee now.

GRATUITOUS VIDEOS OF THE DAY

A beautifully made new Eric Northman video by Maessica for True Blood fans.





I'm pretty sure Coco Chanel would have applied her "less is more" philosophy to tribute videos. They don't need the flourish overlay, but Gerard Butler/Dracula 2000 fans may find this still worth watching. I'm kinda digging on the song.