Girls with Messy Hair Covers & Spankin New Videos

I have a particular fondness for messy hair and I'm always trying to get mine to look tousled. My hair ("Mexican hair" sneers The Husband, who has curly hair) will not tousle no matter how much Aveda product I dump on it. It will not "texturize." Judging by all the messy hair book covers, I'm not the only one enamored of good tousling.

I am really liking the cover of Texas Gothic by Rosemary Clement-Moore. The Western-style font, the half-hidden face and the title itself all intrigue me. The book will be released July 12.

Amy Goodnight's family is far from normal. She comes from a line of witches, but tries her best to stay far outside the family business. Her summer gig? Ranch-sitting for her aunt with her wacky but beautiful sister. Only the Goodnight Ranch is even less normal than it normally is. Bodies are being discovered, a ghost is on the prowl, and everywhere she turns, the hot neighbor cowboy is in her face.

Rosemary Clement-Moore's Website

Siren's Storm by Lisa Papademetriou

Release Date: July 12, 2011

Summary:

Nothing has been the same for Will ever since what happened last summer. One day, on an ordinary sailing trip with his brother, there is a strange accident. When Will wakes up, he learns his brother has disappeared, presumed drowned. Worst of all, Will can't remember what happened—his family finds him unconscious, with no memory of the accident.

Now Will and his best friend and neighbor, Gretchen, are starting a new summer. Gretchen seems troubled—her sleepwalking habit is getting worse, and she keeps waking up closer and closer to the water. Will is drawn to Asia, the exotic new girl in town. Nobody knows where she's from—all Will knows is that her beauty and her mesmerizing voice have a powerful effect on people.

Then there is another mysterious drowning, and Will and Gretchen begin to wonder: Is Asia just another beautiful, wealthy summer resident? Or is she something entirely more sinister . . . and inhuman?

More...Lisa Papademetriou's Website

Ultraviolet by R.J. Anderson

Release Date: September 2011

Summary:

"Once upon a time there was a girl who was special. This is not her story. Unless you count the part where I killed her."

Sixteen-year-old Alison wakes up in a mental institution. As she pieces her memory back together, she realizes she's confessed to murdering Tori Beaugrand, the most perfect girl at school. But the case is a mystery. Tori's body has not been found, and Alison can't explain what happened. One minute she was fighting with Tori. The next moment Tori disintegrated--into nothing.

But that's impossible. No one is capable of making someone vanish. Right? Alison must be losing her mind--like her mother always feared she would.

For years Alison has tried to keep her weird sensory abilities a secret. No one ever understood--until a mysterious visiting scientist takes an interest in Alison's case. Suddenly, Alison discovers that the world is wrong about her--and that she's capable of far more than anyone else would believe.

R.J. Anderson's Website

The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson

Release Date: September 29, 2011

Summary:

The day Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux arrives in London marks a memorable occasion. For Rory, it's the start of a new life at a London boarding school. But for many, this will be remembered as the day a series of brutal murders broke out across the city, gruesome crimes mimicking the horrific Jack the Ripper events of more than a century ago.

Soon "Rippermania" takes hold of modern-day London, and the police are left with few leads and no witnesses. Except one. Rory spotted the man police believe to be the prime suspect. But she is the only one who saw him. Even her roommate, who was walking with her at the time, didn't notice the mysterious man. So why can only Rory see him? And more urgently, why has Rory become his next target? In this edge-of-your-seat thriller, full of suspense, humor, and romance, Rory will learn the truth about the secret ghost police of London and discover her own shocking abilities.

Maureen Johnson's Website

Actually, the cover above is the UK cover for this book, which is fantastic. The US cover is completely different. Maybe the images in the background of the old buildings stand out more on the actual book, but they get lost in small graphics. I didn't see them until I went to a bigger image.

I'd have to say I prefer to UK cover. There's too much going on in the US version, which could have worked if layed out properly. Like the man-ghost could have been off to the right perhaps. The title could have been placed at top where it isn't detracting from the girl and vice verse.

If I saw the books placed next to each other on a table, I know which one I'd want to own -- the one with the girl who's looking right at you, knowing something, mysterious and dark with the butterfly in her hair, instead of the girl who's being presented as innocent and passive, a pure victim in her white nightgown.

GRATUITOUS VIDEOS OF THE DAY

Hmm, what would be a good theme? I think I'll go for Brand New Videos. I like the style of Cantrous new vid.



This is something for my Northern neighbors, a tribute to one of your great exports.



Haven't seen this before, Bella Swan with Lestat.

DARK COMPANION to be Published June 2012!

Fantastic news! I finally have a title for my YA Gothic! Tor/MacMillan will publish Dark Companion in June 2012. This is my homage to Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, which I first "discovered" in the library when I was 13, and have read several times since. I was also influenced by Muriel Sparks' The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and my own experiences at an all-girls high school.

When foster teen Jane Williams is invited to attend elite Birch Grove Academy for Girls and escape her violent urban neighborhood, she thinks the offer is too good to be true. She's even offered her own living quarters, the groundskeeper's cottage in the center of the birch grove.

Something's not quite right about the school -- or is it Jane? She thinks she sees things in the birch grove at night. She's also beginning to suspect that the elegant headmistress and her sons are hiding secrets. Lucky is the gorgeous, golden son who is especially attentive to Jane, and Jack is the sardonic puzzling brother.

The school with its talented teachers and bright students is a dream for a science and math geek like Jane. She also loves her new friends, including hilarious poetry-spouting rich girl, Mary Violet. But the longer Jane stays at Birch Grove, the more questions she has about the disappearance of another scholarship girl and a missing faculty member.

Jane discovers one secret about Birch Grove, which only leads to more mysteries. What is she willing to sacrifice in order to stay at this school...and be bound to Birch Grove forever?

I first wrote this book in response to what I saw as the crass and cynical teen books that treated all girls like mere consumers, looking for the latest trendy product to use as a status symbol. I remember reading about two advertising guys who wrote a book about a teen girl and presold product placement in the book. So that when the character used eye shadow, it was a specific brand and shade. And I was bothered by books that only portrayed the very worst qualities of girls, the social manipulation and game playing, the obsession with boys.

But girls are more than just a market niche. I knew girls who were brilliant, inquisitive, talented, kind, funny, brave, affectionate, generous... I wanted to write a book about those girls and for those girls.

I'll be telling you more about the road to publication for Dark Companion, including all the help from readers and bloggers.

GRATUITOUS VIDEOS OF THE DAY

These are for the girls!

Pink & Black Book Cover: Part One

I do like pink with black covers -- or anything pink and black. Pink brings brightness and whimsy, and the black brings dark and dangerous. It's a great combo. For example, check out Kiki Hamilton's upcoming Faerie Ring, which will be released in September by Tor.

London 1871
Orphaned and picking pockets in London’s Charing Cross station to support not only herself, but her ‘family’ of orphans, sixteen year-old Tiki steals the Queen’s ring and thinks she’s solved their problems. That is, until Rieker, a pickpocket from the North End, suspects her in the theft and tells her that the ring is really a reservoir that holds a truce between the British and Faerie courts.

When he warns her that the fey will do anything, including murder, to recover the ring, Tiki is unsure whether to believe him or not. To complicate matters, Rieker seems to know something about the unusual birthmark on Tiki's wrist. But when Tiki and her family are threatened, the game changes.

Hmm, the names Tiki and Kiki just make me want to put on some Jimmy Buffet music and stir up some Mai Tais. (Okay, I always feel like putting on retro music to match retro cocktails.)

This book sounds all kind of wonderful, right? The Faerie Ring is my editor's book so I'm sure I can get a Q&A with Kiki and a copy for a contest. In the meanwhile, you can visit Kiki's website, where she's always hosting giveaways.

Dearly Departed by Lia Habel

Release Date: October 18, 2011

Summary:

Almost two hundred years in the future, Nora Dearly lives in a world of bustled gowns, fake manners, watery tea, and uppity lords and ladies.

Thank God the zombies came to rescue her.

Dragged into the night by the living dead, Nora soon finds herself fighting for the father she thought long gone, the friend she was forced to leave behind – and the love of a handsome, noble young army captain.

Who just happens to be a walking corpse.

I like this conceit: mixing Victoriana with the future and an adventure. I hope there's humor, too. The UK cover is orange/brown and sort of Gone with the Windish, and this is more girly listening to emo. While I think the US cover is prettier, the UK cover is a little more wry, showing a reader more about the story's actual content. Visit Lia Habel's website to learn more.

Witches of East End by Melissa De La Cruz

Released: June 24, 2011

Summary:

Witches of East End follows the Beauchamp family—the formidable matriarch Joanna and her daughters Freya and Ingrid. Freya, a sexy bartender, has a potion to cure every kind of heartache, while Ingrid, the local librarian, solves complicated domestic problems with her ability to tie magical knots. Joanna is the witch to see when modern medicine has no more answers; her powers can wake the dead. Everything seems to be going smoothly until a young girl, Molly Lancaster, goes missing after taking one of Freya’s irresistible cocktails. As more of the town’s residents begin disappearing, everyone seems to have the same suspects in mind: the Beauchamp women.

Hmm, I think I like the US cover (left) better than the UK cover, but it all depends on the book. The UK is less imaginative, but shows that the book has humor. Melissa De La Cruz's website.

Desires of the Dead by Kimberly Derting

Release Date: February 11, 2011

Summary:

Violet can sense the echoes of those who've been murdered—and the matching imprint that clings to their killers. Only those closest to her know what she is capable of, but when she discovers the body of a young boy she also draws the attention of the FBI, threatening her entire way of life.

As Violet works to keep her morbid ability a secret, she unwittingly becomes the object of a dangerous obsession. Normally she'd turn to her best friend, Jay, except now that they are officially a couple, the rules of their relationship seem to have changed. And with Jay spending more and more time with his new friend Mike, Violet is left with too much time on her hands as she wonders where things went wrong. But when she fills the void by digging into Mike's tragic family history, she stumbles upon a dark truth that could put everyone in danger.

Visit Kimberly Derting's website.

GRATUITOUS VIDEOS OF THE DAY

So the theme is evident: songs with pink in the title or by bands with pink in the name.



I feel bad about posting a video with music that makes me need several retro cocktails.

Catching Up: Things I've Been Collecting & HAUNTED HONEYMOON ARC Givewaway

I've let blogging slide while I was, uh, writing, which is what I'm supposed to be doing, and that means that I've collected lots of fun info.

First things first. It occurred to me that some of you might actually want to read one of my books. So I'm having a contest for an ARC of Haunted Honeymoon, Casa Dracula Book 4.  (If you win, you can choose one of my other books instead.)

TO ENTER: Just leave a comment telling me something that you keep putting off doing.  For example, I realized today that I have still not trained my dog Betty von Snoggle to walk politely on a leash. She lunges on the leash as she looks for squirrels. I also have piles of papers that I need to file away.

The contest runs through July 15 and a winner will be chosen at random.  It's limited to the U.S., but you could possibly convince me to send it elsewhere. You need to leave a way to contact you.

For a really amazing contest, go to Evie's Bookish blog. You know how you've seen all these gorgeous Young Adult novels like Girl in a Steel Corset, Delirium, The Iron King? She's got all those and many many more as prizes. Agh, I want so many of these prizes, but I have a policy of not entering contests so that readers can win.

Also My Bookish Ways has a Q&A and contest with me through July 5.

On to other things that I put off.

Some time ago, I asked Stefan Petrucha, the author of Blood Prophecy, if he's be interested in guest blogging. He sent me a link to his essay "Me and Fangs -- a Loose History of Vampires." The essay's long, but fun and interesting reading, and I very much liked his discussion of Barnabas Collins, the anguished and elegant vampire in the cult series, Dark Shadows:

Skipping a few decades, the thickest nosferatu-root, for me, remains the 1960s soap opera, Dark Shadows. As a writer, I’ve been fortunate to work with several iconic characters, from man-made monsters to the world’s first girl detective, but the main reason vampires own a special place in my heart is that moment when I was eight and first glimpsed Barnabas Collins baring his fangs – an affection I blog about at length here.

Yes, it was cheaply made. Sets wobbled, actors blew their lines and the blooper reel is nearly as long as the series. Yet Barnabas, a tortured Byronic hero, owes as much to Wuthering Heights’ Heathcliff as he does to Varney or Dracula. Laugh if you will, but without him, the works of Anne Rice, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Twilight, would not be possible.

Go read the essay.

BLOGS TO WATCH

Book lover Shannon was so devastated by the lost of Rebecca Baumann's Dirty Sexy Books that she started her own review blog: Books Devoured. What kind of blog do you get from someone who loves Stephen King and F. Scott Fitzgerald? One with a very fun rating system that goes from Brussel Sprouts to Mom's Fried Chicken.

Shannon's book selection is quirky, her subjects are eclectic, but she writes with verve and a sense of humor, so check it out and cruise around to discover what she's thinking about/reading.

Lisa dropped by here for a contest so I found out about her blog, Cold Moon Violet. I know -- awesome blog name. Lisa says, "I love to read! Especially Urban Fantasy, Fantasy (I love dragons and fairies), and paranormal and regency romances.I also like Victorian mysteries and plain old fiction."

Lisa features lots of young adult fiction and some great cover graphics, so this is a good blog to visit if you're looking for new reads. She's also got an excellent blogroll and I'm not just saying that because Vampire Wire is on it.

I found this interesting review blog, Gothic Mom's Book Reviews. Annette Nishimoto describes herself by saying, "I love to travel, read, write, and spend time at the beach. I am currently writing my first Paranormal, Fiction, Romance novel titled Before the Darkness. I would have to say that my greatest influences for this book would be Karen Chance, Laurell Hamilton, and Kelley Armstrong." Annette is a very active reviewer and she's currently taking books for review.

GRATUITOUS VIDEOS OF THE DAY

Here are some videos I've been intending to post. There's no theme.

I really like this Spike/Buffy spoof of Made of Honor.



Remember when I was posting vids set to Phil Collins's songs?



I can't post any more videos because my Adobe Flash keeps crashing. But have a great weekend!