Yvonne has been madly moving house and she’s finally caught up with everything. (Know how that feels, the tradies are coming today to finish the last cabinet in the kitchen and patch all the holes in the walls from 20 years of kids and teenagers wrestling). Yvonne says:

Although I really like Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor, I’m going with Cecilia Jansink as the winner. How could I not when she pick Milla Jovovich, who played Ultraviolet and I wrote the novelization? Ripley from Aliens is also a good answer, too.

So congratulations Cecilia, you can email Yvonne on   von(at)yvonnenavarro(dot)com

Watch out for the give-away question at the end of the interview.

Q: You originally wanted to be an artist. I’ve done some surveys of writers and found four out of five are aural – they listen to music when writing, but the other one out of five are visually – they collect images and ideas spring from visual sources. Do you collect images that haunt you and trigger ideas? When you write a book do you collect a file of images that you associate with that book?

I did, although I currently consider myself as a “sort-of” artist now.  I’m lucky enough to be at a point in my life where I can go back and actively chase a dream that might have otherwise slipped away.  I’ve finally taken some painting classes and collected some output, and we’re perhaps a month away from me having a formal art studio in which to work.  I guess that answers your question in a roundabout way—I’m a very visual person.  As that applies to writing, you hit it on the proverbial head: I collect all kinds of images.  Sometimes the images inspire me, sometimes I seek them out to go with a work already in progress.  When I wrote Mirror Me, I had a notebook with photographs of the characters, neighbourhoods, even the kind of furniture in some of the characters’ homes.  Now that I think of it, going all the way back to my first novel, AfterAge , I did the same thing but for the city itself– I got up on Sunday mornings and went downtown in the dark so I could take photographs of a completely empty downtown and get the “feel” of what Chicago might be like if it was empty of people.

Q: You’ve written four books in the ‘Buffyverse’ and contributed to three anthologies. I know a couple of authors who write for Starwars, or Stargate, or the Buffyverse. It always strikes me as taking a lot of discipline. You must need to immerse yourself so thoroughly in the Buffyverse that writing those characters becomes instinctive. Do you do a lot of research before you start?

Actually, I’ve written seven when you include the Wicked Willow Trilogy.  It’s been awhile since I’ve written a Buffyverse book, but I can say that I did research as necessary when I was involved in the projects, specifically to make sure I kept all the details and interactions correct.  However, I was definitely immersed in the Buffy universe, in that completely geeky way that someone lives and breathes a series or movie that they absolutely adore.  (I was the same way with Babylon 5.)  I can still quote lines from Buffy shows (“Those are my chicken feet!”), just as I can from certain Aliens movies.  )

Q: You have an impressive list of awards and nominations to your credit. Several final-listings in the Bram Stoker Award, a win for the Women In Publishing Award and a win in the National Federation Press Women’s  Award in the Juvenile book category, to name a few. I guess the champagne corks have been popping in your house. Does it help to raise an author’s profile when they place or win in these awards?

Perhaps, although I haven’t really been aware of it.  Willow Files, Vol. 2 won the Bram Stoker Award in the category of Young Adult Fiction, and yet it was the last YA book I wrote until co‑writing a YA adventure with my husband, Weston Ochse.  I will say that it’s awfully nice to have all your hard work recognized publicly.  Hopefully there’s a certain ex out there somewhere who sees it and gets a silent moment of “She told me so.”  Oh, wait—was that my out loud voice?!

Q: You’ve also written for Species and Ultraviolet. Does this mean that you see the movie before it is released, or do you work from the script? What happens if scenes get left out on the cutting room floor?

How interesting that you chose Species and Ultraviolet, which were polar opposite experiences for me!  First off, all of the movie tie‑ins are written from the script, before the movie is released.  The object is generally to get the book out preferably before the movie is released, or at the very least, at the same time.  With Species, I worked very closely with Dennis Feldman, the scriptwriter, and we had the best time.  He actually read the manuscript and would call me directly and make comments; by the same token, I could call him anytime and ask questions.  One particularly telling question he asked me after reading the manuscript was, “What about the bus stop scene?”  To which I replied, “What bus stop scene?”  This, apparently, was something that had been added into an updated version of the script after I’d already written the first draft of the book.  That he and I were able to talk back and forth like that is a real rarity in the world of movie tie‑ins, and it really helped to make the book the best it could be.  Folks who read tie‑ins know that the best thing to do is to see the movie first, then read the book.  Invariably things are cut from the movie script because of time and money; if you read about them first and then see the movie, you’ll be disappointed that they aren’t included. If you see the movie, then read about them in the book, you’ll be delighted at the extra stuff in the book.  Which, by the way, isn’t just deleted scenes—authors often include past history, universe‑building, and detailed characterization.

Ultraviolet was interesting because I never received a single comment or change request on the manuscript.  I know I’m not a perfect writer, and that’s happened to me a couple of times (it also happened with Hellboy), but feedback is always a good thing, you know?

Q: In a review of your book Highborn, the reviewer said: ‘The term ‘Urban Fantasy’ can strike fear into the heart of many people, and not in a good way. Thankfully, this first novel in Yvonne Navarro’s Dark Redemption series (which is now followed by CONCRETE SAVIOR) is an example of the genre not only done well, but done damn near to perfection.’ They go on to say that the book is refreshing. Was it hard to come up with a fresh take on this genre?

I remember that review, and to say I feel flattered by those nice words would definitely be an understatement.  But I also have to admit that I wasn’t aiming to write an urban fantasy.  When I thought of the basis for HIGHBORN and then planned it out, it was just the book I wanted to write.  It wasn’t specifically geared to any genre, and it wasn’t until my agent sold it and the purchasing editor called it an urban fantasy that I even thought about where it might fit in terms of sales.

Q: You’ve written over a hundred short stories. It looks like you are most comfortable writing what is called Dark Fantasy now, but used to be known as horror. What’s led you down this path? Did you discover Poe when you were thirteen and have never been the same since?

My Mom and sister always liked scary stories.  I grew up watching Creature Features, reading Creepy and Eerie magazines, and looking for the spookiest fiction I could find in the library.  The first movie I remember watching was Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds” at the drive-in.  I like a good, scary story because it gets your blood running and your mind working, and you don’t always know there’s going to be a happy ending.

Q: I was prompted to start this series of interviews because there seems to be a perception in the US and the UK that fantasy is a bit of a boy’s club. Do you think there’s a difference in the way males and females write fantasy?

I think people write the way they want to, and if there’s any difference, it’s because the writer does it intentionally.  There are men writing romances under pseudonyms and women writing crime thrillers using their first and middle initials whose own readers don’t realize are female.   If a woman believes she shouldn’t write about certain things because she’s a woman, she’s imposed restrictions on herself… and she’s the only person who can break those chains.  I don’t write like a woman.  I don’t write like a man.  I write like a writer.

Q: Following on from that, does the gender of the writer change your expectations when you pick up their book?

No, but I know that it does for some people.

Q: And here’s the fun question. If you could book a trip on a time machine, where and when would you go, and why?

Well, it’s tempting to say I’d go backward and fix a few of my bigger mistakes in life, but then I’d probably just make different ones, right?  I tend to look at that on more of a personal basis than you’re probably intending.  If I stick to the fun side of things, I think I’d like to go into the future a hundred years or so, just to see where technology has taken us.  Of course, a thousand years from now we might actually have space travel.  Hmmmm…

Give-away Question:

Who’s your favorite female movie star heroine, and from what movie?

Yvonne says: If I was to answer this, it would be a tie between Sigourney Weaver from Aliens and Kate Beckinsale from the Underworld movies.

Follow Yvonne on Twitter:  http://twitter.com/#!/YvonneNavarro

See Yvonne’s Blog and Website.

Catch up with Yvonne on Facebook.

Catch up with Yvonne on GoodReads.

Now, for The Final Harvest *sigh*

I have more books left than I had weeks to work with So I’m going to do this giveaway a little different. I have six books that are first in a series, or first in a world. Each one will go to a different commenter. The books are;

(clicking on the author names takes you to their websites)

Bloodlands by Christine Cody

A Brush of Darkness by Allison Pang

Red-Headed StepChild by Jaye Wells

Blood Groove by Alex Bledsoe

Highborn by Yvonne Navarro

and

Bitten by Kelley Armstrong

The winners will be chosen on Saturday, October 29th. Just leave a comment on this post with the name of the book(s) you would like to enter. Good luck!

IDW Unleashes Prose Program for Breakout Comic Series: Zombies vs Robots

35 Writers Explore, Expand and Remix ZvR World

San Diego, CA (September 6, 2011)—IDW’s gleefully subversive ZOMBIES VS ROBOTS comic book series from creators Chris Ryall and Ashley Wood will soon be eating readers’ brains from the inside via a series of short stories, novellas and more. As announced at the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con in July, the company plans for an ambitious slate of original prose stories set at different points in this epic adventure of a zombie apocalypse. In ZOMBIES VS ROBOTS, the clanking robots are built to fight the shambling braineaters, in a desperate attempt to save Earth’s dwindling population.   “It’s gratifying to see that ZvR has taken on an unlife of its own,” asserts Ryall, series co-creator and Chief Creative Officer/Editor-in-Chief for IDW. “Expanding from comics into prose is a logical progression, though as the heretofore sole writer of the series I must admit that letting other writers into our subversive little world was at first troubling. But now I’m fine with it. Really. Mostly. Especially since editor Jeff Conner has corralled such a talented array of writers to tackle some really bizarre and creative prose stories. As long as no one expects me to let them write ZvR comics, too…” A lurching cohort of writers—including such notable talents as John Shirley, Nancy A. Collins, Rio Youers, Brea Grant, Steve Rasnic Tem, Amber Benson, James A. Moore, Rachel Swirsky, Norman Prentiss, and John Skipp & Cody Goodfellow, led by Ryall himself—has been assembled to pen original stories of life during wartime in the ZVR world. “It’s our biggest project so far,” states Conner, the IDW contributing editor helming the ZVR prose program. “In a way it’s a follow-up to our Classics Mutilated release, at least in terms of its anything goes spirit. The results so far have been—um, riveting.”The rest of the ZVR writer roster includes: Dale Bailey, Amelia Beamer, Jesse Bullington, Simon Clark, Lincoln Crisler, Stephen Dedman, Rain Graves, Rhodi Hawk, Robert Hood, Stephen Graham Jones, Nicholas Kaufmann, Steven Lockley, Nick Mamatas, Jonathan McGoran, Joe McKinney, Gary McMahon, Mark Morris, Bobby Nash, Yvonne Navarro, Hank Schwaeble, Ekaterina Sedia, Sean Taylor, Simon Kurt Unsworth, Kaaron Warren, and Don Webb.

A film version of ZVR is currently in development through Sony Pictures, with Michael Bay’s Platinum Dunes as producer.

Visit IDWPublishing.com to learn more about the company and its top-selling books.

About IDW Publishing
IDW is an award-winning publisher of comic books, graphic novels and trade paperbacks, based in San Diego, California. Renowned for its diverse catalog of licensed and independent titles, IDW publishes some of the most successful and popular titles in the industry, including: Hasbro’s The TRANSFORMERS and G.I. JOE, Paramount’s Star Trek; HBO’s True Blood; the BBC’s Doctor Who; Toho’s Godzilla and comics and trade collections based on novels by worldwide bestselling author, James Patterson. IDW is also home to the Library of American Comics imprint, which publishes classic comic reprints; Yoe! Books, a partnership with Yoe! Studio.

IDW’s original horror series, 30 Days of Night, was launched as a major motion picture in October 2007 by Sony Pictures and was the #1 film in its first week of release. More information about the company can be found at IDWPublishing.com.

Highborn

Publisher’s Description:

In the Mail:

        Dead on the Delta by Stacey Jay, Tangled Threads by Jennifer Estep, and Concrete Savior by Yvonne Navarro for review and courtesy of Pocket Books / Simon & Schuster.

  Hellebore & Rue: Tales of Queer Women and Magic edited by JoSelle Vanderhooft for review.

  Phoenix Rising by Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris. Won in a giveaway from the awesome Suzanne Johnson of Preternatura whose own book needs to come out a heck of a lot sooner because I want it right now.

Bought: These are all birthday presents. I don’t buy a lot of books for me because of how financially irresponsible it would be. That’s the biggest downside to being a reading ninja were-cheetah. On the other hand, I read so much that I’m always able to give people awesome presents so it all works out.

Chasing the Moon by A. Lee Martinez
The Dark Griffin by K.J. Taylor
Dark Jenny by Alex Bledsoe
The Fires of the Gods by I. J. Parker
Spirit Thief by Rachel Aaron – This will be the second time I’ve bought this as a birthday present. And it won’t be the last.
Warlock by Michael Scott

From the Library:
The Divided Realms Book 1: Captured by Maggie L. Wood
The Divided Realms Book 2: The Darkening by Maggie L. Wood
The Green Man: Tales from the Mythic Forest edited by Ellen Datlow and Terry Windling
Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier

Gary Blythe

Stephen Jones and David Sutton – Introduction

 Ramsey Campbell – The Retrospective
 Christopher Fowler – We’re Going Where the Sun Shines Brightly  
 John Burke – A Habit of Hating
 Trey R. Barker – Dead Snow
 Stephen Baxter – The Dinosaur Hunter
 Basil Copper – There Lies the Danger…
 Nancy Kilpatrick – Your Shadow Knows You Well
 Jay Lake – Eglantine’s Time
 Graham Masterton – The Burgers of Calais
 Nicholas Royle – Hide and Seek
 Geoff Nicholson – Moving History
 Samantha Lee – Aversion Therapy
 Tony Richards – The Cure  
 David J. Schow – Plot Twist
 Gemma Files – Job 37
 Yvonne Navarro – Mother, Personified
 Joel Lane – The Receivers  
 Lisa Morton – The Death of Splatter  
 Michael Marshall Smith – A Long Walk, for the Last Time
 Glen Hirshberg – The Two Sams
 Jeff VanderMeer – In the Hours After Death
 Les Daniels – Under My Skin  
 Joe Murphy – Sweetness and Light
 Conrad Williams – Haifisch
 Caitlín R. Kiernan – The Road of Pins
 Tim Lebbon – Black
 Kim Newman – A Drug on the Market
 Richard Christian Matheson – Slaves of Nowhere  
 Don Tumasonis – The Prospect Cards
 A. F. Chico Kidd – Handwriting of the God
 Tanith Lee – Midday People
 James Van Pelt – The Boy Behind the Gate
 Mick Garris – A Hollywood Ending

Lauren DeStefano
Wither (The Chemical Garden, Book 1)
HarperCollins (AU: 1st May 2011)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
By age sixteen, Rhine Ellery has four years left to live. She can thank modern science for this genetic time bomb. A botched effort to create a perfect race has left all males with a lifespan of 25 years, and females with a lifespan of 20 years. Geneticists are seeking a miracle antidote to restore the human race, desperate orphans crowd the population, crime and poverty have skyrocketed, and young girls are being kidnapped and sold as polygamous brides to bear more children. When Rhine is kidnapped and sold as a bride, she vows to do all she can to escape. Her husband, Linden, is hopelessly in love with her, and Rhine can’t bring herself to hate him as much as she’d like to. He opens her to a magical world of wealth and illusion she never thought existed, and it almost makes it possible to ignore the clock ticking away her short life. But Rhine quickly learns that not everything in her new husband’s strange world is what it seems. Her father-in-law, an eccentric doctor bent on finding the antidote, is hoarding corpses in the basement. Her fellow sister wives are to be trusted one day and feared the next, and Rhine is desperate to communicate to her twin brother that she is safe and alive. Will Rhine be able to escape – before her time runs out?

Rebecca Lim
Exile (Mercy, Book 2)
HarperCollins (AU: 1st May 2011)
Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
All Mercy knows is that she is an angel, exiled from heaven for a crime she can’t remember committing. So when she “wakes” inside the body and life of eighteen-year-old Lela Neill, Mercy has only limited recall of her past life. Her strongest memories are of Ryan, the mortal boy who’d begun to fall for her – and she for him. Lela’s life is divided between caring for her terminally ill mother and her work as a waitress at the Green Lantern, a busy city cafe frequented by suits, cab drivers, strippers, backpackers and the homeless, and Mercy quickly falls into the rhythm of this new life. But when Mercy’s beloved, Luc, reappears in her dreams, she begins to awaken to glimpses of her true nature and her true feelings for Ryan. How can she know that her attempts to contact Ryan will have explosive consequences? Meanwhile, “the Eight” – responsible for her banishment – hover near, determined to keep Mercy and Luc apart, forever…

Megan McCafferty
Bumped
HarperCollins (AU: 1st May 2011)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
When a virus makes everyone over the age of eighteen infertile, would-be parents pay teen girls to conceive and give birth to their children, making teens the most prized members of society. Girls sport fake baby bumps and the school cafeteria stocks folic-acid-infused food. Sixteen-year-old identical twins Melody and Harmony were separated at birth and have never met until the day Harmony shows up on Melody’s doorstep. Up to now, the twins have followed completely opposite paths. Melody has scored an enviable conception contract with a couple called the Jaydens. While they are searching for the perfect partner for Melody to bump with, she is fighting her attraction to her best friend, Zen, who is way too short for the job. Harmony has spent her whole life in Goodside, a religious community, preparing to be a wife and mother. She believes her calling is to convince Melody that pregging for profit is a sin. But Harmony has secrets of her own that she is running from. When Melody is finally matched with the world-famous, genetically flawless Jondoe, both girls’ lives are changed forever. A case of mistaken identity takes them on a journey neither could have ever imagined, one that makes Melody and Harmony realise they have so much more than just DNA in common.

Caragh M. O’Brien
Birthmarked
Simon & Schuster (AU: 1st May 2011)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
In the future, in a world baked dry by the harsh sun, there are those who live inside the walled Enclave and those, like sixteen-year-old Gaia Stone, who live outside. Following in her mother’s footsteps Gaia has become a midwife, delivering babies in the world outside the wall and handing a quota over to be “advanced” into the privileged society of the Enclave. Gaia has always believed this is her duty, until the night her mother and father are arrested by the very people they so loyally serve. Now Gaia is forced to question everything she has been taught, but her choice is simple: enter the world of the Enclave to rescue her parents, or die trying.

Veronica Roth
Divergent
HarperCollins (AU: 1st May 2011; US & UK: 3rd May 2011)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
In Beatrice Prior’s dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue – Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is – she can’t have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself. During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together, they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are – and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes-fascinating, sometimes-exasperating boy fits into the life she’s chosen. But Tris also has a secret: one she’s kept hidden from everyone, because she’s been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers unrest and growing conflict that threaten to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might be what helps her save those she loves…or it might be what destroys her.

Rachel Caine
Bite Club (Morganville Vampires, Book 10)
Allison & Busby (UK: 2nd May 2011); Penguin (AU: 2nd May 2011; US & CA: 3rd May 2011)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
After discovering that vampires populate Morganville – and surviving a number of adventures – Claire Danvers has come to realise that for the most part, the undead just want to live their lives. But someone else has other ideas. There’s a new extreme sport being broadcast over the Internet: bare-knuckle fights pitting captured vampires against one another – or, worse, against humans. Tracking the signal leads Claire and her friends to discover that what started as an online brawl will soon threaten everyone in Morganville. And if they want to survive, they’ll have to do a lot more than fight…

Bree Despain
The Lost Saint (The Dark Divine, Book 2)
Hardie Grant Egmont (AU: 2nd May 2011)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
Grace Divine made the ultimate sacrifice to cure Daniel Kalbi. She was infected with the werewolf curse while trying to save him, and lost her beloved brother in the process. When Grace receives a haunting phone call from Jude, she knows what she must do. She must become a Hound of Heaven. Desperate to find Jude, Grace befriends Talbot – a newcomer to town who promises her that he can help her be a hero. But as the two grow closer, the wolf grows in Grace, and her relationship with Daniel is put in danger – in more ways than one. Unaware of the dark path she is walking, Grace begins to give into the wolf inside of her – not realising that an enemy has returned and a deadly trap is about to be sprung.

Richelle Mead
Spirit Bound (Vampire Academy, Book 5)
Penguin Razorbill (AU: 2nd May 2011)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
After a long and heartbreaking journey to Siberia, Dimitri’s birthplace, Rose Hathaway has finally returned to St. Vladimir’s – and to her best friend, Lissa Dragomir. It’s graduation, and the girls can’t wait for their real lives outside the Academy’s cold iron gates to finally begin. But even with the intrigue and excitement of court life looming, Rose’s heart still aches for Dimitri. He’s out there, somewhere. She failed to kill him when she had the chance, and now her worst fears are about to come true. Dimitri has tasted her blood, and she knows in her heart that he is hunting her. And if Rose won’t join him, he won’t rest until he has silenced her…forever. But Rose can’t forget what she learned on her journey – whispers of a magic too impossible and terrifying to comprehend. A magic inextricably tied to Lissa that could hold the answer to all of Rose’s prayers, but not without devastating consequences. Now Rose will have to decide what – and who – matters most to her. And in the end, is true love really worth the price?

Janni Lee Simner
Faerie Winter (Bones of Faerie, Book 2)
Random House (AU: 2nd May 2011)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
The war has been over for 40 years, and finally Liza’s town is accepting children born with fairy talents. Then a nearby town is destroyed, and Liza discovers that the war might not be over after all. It seems some faeries survived and have crossed over into the human world to continue the fight. And the most powerful and merciless of them all – the Queen herself – may be among them… Liza is a Summoner. She can draw life to herself, even from beyond the grave. And because magic works both ways, she can drive life away. Months ago, she used her powers to banish her dangerous father and to rescue her mother, lost in dreams, from the ruined land of Faerie. Born in the wake of the war between humanity and Faerie, Liza lived in a world where green things never slept, where trees sought to root in living flesh and bone. But now the forests have fallen silent. Even the evergreens’ branches are bare. Winter crops won’t grow, and the threat of starvation looms. And deep in the forest a dark, malevolent will is at work. To face it, Liza will have to find within herself something more powerful than magic alone.

Emma Holly, Lauren Dane, Megan Hart & Bethany Kane
Three to Tango (Anthology)
Penguin Berkley (US & CA: 3rd May 2011)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
In Emma Holly’s FLIPPING FOR CHELSEA, Shay and Liam shared an unforgettable night with their lifelong friend, Chelsea, awakening a rush of forbidden feelings – feelings they have to reckon with when the three reunite, and the unrequited lust between them is too much to bear. Though Ava left her hard-knock Georgia childhood behind, she never forgot Luca and Angelo. Together they were best friends with a bond that could never be broken. But when she returns, the three must decide whether to face the fires that burn between them, or forgo their desires forever in Lauren Dane’s DIRTY/BAD/WRONG. In Megan Hart’s JUST ONE NIGHT, fun-loving couple Kerry and Jeremy find themselves in a triangle of trouble when Kerry’s old crush, Brian, returns for a school reunion, and Jeremy gives her his enthusiastic approval to seduce him. But while Jeremy has no trouble sharing Kerry, Brian isn’t sure he can handle what’s coming. Years ago, Walker walked out on Madeline when she needed him most. Now, the ex-Secret Service agent is back – hired to protect Madeline by her billionaire boss, Tony. Madeline is determined to make him pay for denying her desires – and she’s not above bringing Tony in to sweeten the deal in Beth Kery’s ON THE JOB.

Jackson Pearce
Sisters Red
Hachette Hodder (UK: 3rd May 2011)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
Scarlett and Rosie March are two highly-skilled sisters who have been hunting Fenris (werewolves) – who prey on teen girls – since Scarlett lost her eye years ago while defending Rosie in an attack. Scarlett lives to destroy the Fenris, and she and Rosie lure them in with red cloaks (a colour the wolves can’t resist), though Rosie hunts more out of debt to her sister than drive. But things seem to be changing. The wolves are getting stronger and harder to fight, and there has been a rash of news reports about countless teenage girls being brutally murdered in the city. Scarlett and Rosie soon discover the truth: wolves are banding together in search of a Potential Fenris – a man tainted by the pack but not yet fully changed. Desperate to find the Potential to use him as bait for a massive werewolf extermination, the sisters move to the city with Silas, a young woodsman and long time family friend who is deadly with an axe. Meanwhile, Rosie finds herself drawn to Silas and the bond they share not only drives the sisters apart, but could destroy all they’ve worked for.

Jeri Smith-Ready
Shift (Shade, Book 2)
Simon & Schuster Pulse (US & CA: 3rd May 2011)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
Aura’s life is anything but easy. Her boyfriend Logan died, and his slides between ghost and shade have left her reeling. Aura knows that he needs her now more than ever. She loves Logan, but she can’t deny her connection to the totally supportive, totally gorgeous Zachary. And she’s not sure that she wants to. Logan and Zachary will fight to be the one by her side, but Aura needs them both to uncover the mystery of her past – the mystery of the Shift. As Aura’s search uncovers new truths, she must decide whom to trust with her secrets…and her heart.

Melissa Marr
Graveminder
HarperCollins William Morrow (CA: 6th May 2011; US: 17th May 2011)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
Rebekkah Barrow never forgot the attention her grandmother Maylene bestowed upon the dead of Claysville, the small town where Bek spent her adolescence. There wasn’t a funeral that Maylene didn’t attend, and at each one Rebekkah watched as Maylene performed the same unusual ritual: She took three sips from a silver flask and spoke the words “Sleep well, and stay where I put you.” Now Maylene is dead, and Bek must go back to the place she left a decade earlier. She soon discovers that Claysville is not just the sleepy town she remembers, and that Maylene had good reason for her odd traditions. It turns out that in Claysville the worlds of the living and the dead are dangerously connected; beneath the town lies a shadowy, lawless land ruled by the enigmatic Charles, aka Mr. D. If the dead are not properly cared for, they will come back to satiate themselves with food, drink, and stories from the land of the living. Only the Graveminder, by tradition a Barrow woman, and her Undertaker – in this case Byron Montgomery, with whom Bek shares a complicated past – can set things right once the dead begin to walk. Although she is still grieving for Maylene, Rebekkah will soon find that she has more than a funeral to attend to in Claysville, and that what awaits her may be far worse: dark secrets, a centuries-old bargain, a romance that still haunts her, and a frightening new responsibility – to stop a monster and put the dead to rest where they belong.

Amanda Grace
But I Love Him
Llewellyn Flux (US: 8th May 2011)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
At the beginning of senior year, Ann was a smiling, straight-A student and track star with friends and a future. Then she met a haunted young man named Connor. Only she can heal his emotional scars; only he could make her feel so loved – and needed. Ann can’t recall the pivotal moment it all changed, when she surrendered everything to be with him, but by graduation, her life has become a dangerous high wire act. Just one mistake could trigger Connor’s rage, a senseless storm of cruel words and violence damaging everything – and everyone – in its path.

Megan Hart
Seeing Stars [previously published under the title Anything You Want]
Samhain (US: 10th May 2011) [eBook only]
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Only one week, and Milla Sulay will start her lonely new life on the Homestead planet Selkca. In anticipation, she’s booked passage aboard the Pleasure Princess, where she intends to make use of every amenity – including the Pleasurebots. Mandroids specially designed to give her whatever she wants. For as long as she wants it. Except there’s something decidedly unbot-like about the mouth-watering unit sent to her cabin. Jarden’s surgical enhancements give him advantages over standard-issue human men, with one exception: he’s tired. Weary of servicing an endless parade of horny, arrogant women. Except his beautiful client can’t quite hide her vulnerability behind the disdainful diva act. Before he can figure it out, the cruiser makes an unscheduled stop in Newcity airspace. Not good. In Newcity-speak, he’s a “mecho”…and not exactly legal. After years of working aboard the Princess to earn his freedom, the only place he’s headed is prison. Then Milla unexpectedly makes him an offer he should refuse. Within minutes of having his dream snatched away, Jarden must decide if life as her field husband on Selcka is a way out – or simply trading one form of servitude for another.

Ann Aguirre
Shady Lady (Corine Solomon, Book 3)
Hachette Orion Gollancz (UK: 12th May 2011)
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Whenever Corine Solomon touches an object, she immediately knows its history. But her own future concerns her more and more. Now back in Mexico, she’s running her pawnshop and trying to get a handle on her strange new powers, for she might need them. And soon. Then former ally Kel Ferguson walks through her door. Heavily muscled and tattooed, Kel looks like a convict but calls himself a holy warrior. This time, he carries a warning for Corine: the Montoya cartel is coming for her – but they don’t just pack automatic weapons. The Montoyas use warlocks, shamans, voodoo priests – anything to terminate trouble. And Corine has become enemy number one…

Vicki Pettersson
The Neon Graveyard (Signs of the Zodiac, Book 6)
HarperCollins Voyager (CA: 13th May 2011; US: 31st May 2011)
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Once she was a soldier for the Light, the prophesied savior who would decide the outcome of the eternal conflict raging unseen in the dark corners of her glittering hometown. Now Joanna Archer is just another mortal – still born of an impossible union of Shadow and Light…still hunted by both – and carrying the unborn child of a lover held captive by a depraved demon goddess. Joining forces with a band of rogue Shadow agents, Joanna’s ready to storm the stronghold of her demonic foe, risking everything to enter this ghastly, godforsaken realm where the price of admission is her eternal soul. Because in a world that has stripped her of her power, identity, and fortune, Joanna has nothing left to lose – except her baby, her future, and the epic war poised to consume the city.

Michele Lang
Lady Lazarus
Macmillan Tor (US: 24th May 2011)
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The saga of Magdalena Lazarus unfolds. Descended from the legendary witch of Ein Dor, she alone holds the power to summon the angel Raziel and stop Hitler and his supernatural minions from unleashing total war in Europe. The Nazis have fighters more fearsome than soldiers, weapons more terrifying than missiles, and allies that even they are afraid of SS werewolves; the demon Asmodel who possesses a willing Adolf Hitler, and other supernatural creatures all are literally hell-bent on preventing Magda from possessing the Book of Raziel, a magical text with the power to turn the tide against Hitler’s vast war machine. Magda, young and rebellious, grew up in the cosmopolitan city of Budapest, unaware of her family’s heritage. When her mother dies, Magda – ready or not – is the Lazarus, who must face the evil that holds Europe in an iron grip. Unready to assume the mantle of her ancient birthright, but knowing that she must fight, she sets out across Europe searching for the Book. Magda is desperate enough to endanger her soul by summoning the avenging angel Raziel. When she sees him in the glory of his celestial presence, her heart is utterly, completely lost…

Kristine Kathryn Rusch
City of Ruins (Diving into the Wreck, Book 2)
Pyr (US: 24th May 2011)
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Boss, a loner, loved to dive into derelict spacecraft adrift in the blackness of space… But one day, she found a ship that would change everything – an ancient Dignity Vessel – and aboard the ship, the mysterious and dangerous Stealth Tech. Now, years after discovering that first ship, Boss has put together a large company that finds Dignity Vessels and finds “loose” Stealth Technology. Following a hunch, Boss and her team come to investigate the city of Vaycehn, where fourteen archeologists have died exploring the endless caves below the city. Mysterious “death holes” explode into the city itself for no apparent reason, and Boss believes Stealth Tech is involved. As Boss searches for the answer to the mystery of the death holes, she will uncover the answer to her Dignity Vessel quest as well – and one more thing, something so important that it will change her life – and the universe – forever.

Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Trial by Fire (Raised by Wolves, Book 2)
Quercus (UK: 26th May 2011)
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At seventeen, Bryn is has the usual schoolgirl worries: a new boyfriend, a new school and a new home. But she has one major concern that her friends don’t have: she is an alpha – a human girl in charge of her own werewolf pack. When Bryn and her closest friends, Dev and Lake, broke from the werewolf Callum’s pack, it had all felt right. Together with Chase, Bryn’s new love, they had rescued some newly made female werewolves from a despicable master and established their own pack, with Bryn as leader. Yet Bryn has always resented the rules of Pack life – the constant bowing to authority, the submission to the alpha. And she is determined to live differently, to run this pack openly and justly. Then one night, a badly beaten werewolf shows up on her territory. He needs help, sanctuary, care. But taking him in could violate inter-pack rules, and no one knows better than Bryn the costs of challenging those rules. Obedience is law in Pack life, but Bryn is going to break the rules, again.

Trisha Telep (ed.)
Corsets & Clockwork (Anthology)
Constable & Robinson (UK: 26th May 2011)
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13 steampunk romances which bend and blend the old and the new in dark urban fantasies. Young heroes and heroines battle evil, in various forms with the help of super-technological or supernatural powers, while falling in and out of love. Contributors include: Ann Aguirre, Tessa Gratton, Jaclyn Dolamore, Lesley Livingston, Frewin Jones, Caitlin Kittredge, Dru Pagliassotti, Dia Reeves, Michael Scott, Maria V. Snyder, Tiffany Trent, Kiersten White, and Adrienne Kress.

Anya Bast
Dark Enchantment (Dark Magick, Book 3)
Penguin Berkley (AU: 30th May 2011)
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Tax consultant Charlotte Bennett isn’t the type to lose control. Until she’s seduced in a dream by a handsome, rugged man named Kieran. In her dream state, she decides to let loose, letting pleasure and desire lead the way. But she quickly discovers her “safe” night of passion has dangerous repercussions. The lust-driven dream was in fact a magick illusion that’s left Charlotte indefinitely bound to a controlling fae named Kieran. Under his order, she must find the last piece of a powerful relic. Only Charlotte knows the location of the bosca fadbh, but the knowledge is hidden deep within her bloodline – and only wicked magick can draw it out. Forced to work with the enticing Kieran, she finds it hard to escape their seductive chemistry. Even though he’s harbouring a deadly curse, one that puts Charlotte in danger – and could make this attraction fatal…

Jes Battis
Infernal Affairs (OSI, Book 4)
Penguin Ace (US & CA: 31st May 2011)
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A dead body on the beach turns out to be a live demon on the run from some of the nastiest bounty hunters in this dimension – or the next. Protecting one demon from another, Tess gets wrapped up in a case that’s as dangerous as it is mind-boggling, especially when it begins to involve her own past.

Mira Grant
Deadline (Newsflesh, Book 2)
Hachette Orbit (US: 31st May 2011)
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Shaun Mason is a man without a mission. Not even running the news organisation he built with his sister has the same urgency as it used to. Playing with dead things just doesn’t seem as fun when you’ve lost as much as he has. But when a CDC researcher fakes her own death and appears on his doorstep with a ravenous pack of zombies in tow, Shaun has a newfound interest in life. Because she brings news – he may have put down the monster who attacked them, but the conspiracy is far from dead. Now, Shaun hits the road to find what truth can be found at the end of a shotgun.

Stacey Jay
Dead on the Delta
Simon & Schuster Pocket (US & CA: 31st May 2011)
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Once upon a time, fairies were the stuff of bedtime stories and sweet dreams. Then came the mutations, and the dreams became nightmares. Mosquito-size fairies now indulge their taste for human blood – and for most humans, a fairy bite means insanity or death. Luckily, Annabelle Lee isn’t most humans. The hard-drinking, smart-mouthed, bicycle-riding redhead is immune to fairy venom, and able to do the dirty work most humans can’t. Including helping law enforcement – and Cane Cooper, the bayou’s sexiest detective – collect evidence when a body is discovered outside the fairy-proof barricades of her Louisiana town. But Annabelle isn’t equipped to deal with the murder of a six-year-old girl or a former lover-turned-FBI snob taking an interest in the case. Suddenly her already bumpy relationship with Cane turns even rockier, and even the most trust-worthy friends become suspects. Annabelle’s life is imploding: between relationship drama, a heartbreaking murder investigation, Breeze-crazed drug runners, and a few too many rum and Cokes, Annabelle is a woman on the run – from her past, toward her future, and into the arms of a darkness waiting just for her…

Yvonne Navarro
Concrete Savior (Dark Redemption, Book 2)
Simon & Schuster Pocket (US & CA: 31st May 2011)
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They say no good deed goes unpunished. Brynna Malak is living proof. A fallen angel in human form, Brynna is trying to earn another chance at heaven. So far, her road to redemption is littered with casualties, especially since Lucifer’s minions are intent on dragging her back to hell. And being mortal only got more complicated since Brynna became involved with Detective Eran Redmond. Still, Brynna’s relationship issues – like the fact that one glimpse of her can drive men crazy with desire – may have to wait. A mysterious “hero” is saving Chicago’s citizens from certain death, with strange and sinister consequences. Brynna knows too much about demonkind to believe in coincidences. Some dark force is at work here, and Brynna may be the only one who can stop it…

EVERYONE DESERVES A SECOND CHANCE. BRYNNA MALAK MIGHT BE THE EXCEPTION TO THE RULE.

Brynna is a fallen angel trying to earn redemption. She’s escaped from Hell in search of a new life on Earth, but Lucifer’s deadliest hunters are hot on her trail. Police Detective Eran Redmond is after her for a different reason: he needs Brynna to help him find a serial killer who is terrifying Chicago . . . and the trail leads them right to Hellspawned demons of the most dangerous kind. She’s also got a very human problem: dealing with a stubborn, attractive cop who makes her long for everything she knows she can’t have.

Staying alive long enough to earn a shot at Heaven will mean breaking some major rules in the mortal world, as she learns just how complicated and wonderful being human can be. With so much stacked against her, even Brynna has to wonder if she’s crazy. But she’s not giving in without a fight.

Not a chance in Hell. . . .

“A twisted urban fantasy full of cops and bullets and fallen angels… a dark gem.” – Christopher Golden

Juno/Pocket Books
ISBN_10=1439191735
ISBN_13=978-1439191736

I just raided the Simon and Schuster catalogue, and came up with some new covers…First off is the cover for Alexis Morgan‘s The Darkness Beyond.  It is scheduled for a May 31st release.  This is the ninth book in the Paladins of Darkness series…

Between fighting the Kalith and honing his hacking skills, D.J. Clayborne’s life has become predictable. But lately, someone—the mysterious “Reggie”—has been breaching his firewalls to leave him messages. Reggie Morrison is part of a federal cyber-crime unit investigating top hackers and finding out how they do it. But as she looks into D.J., she finds herself admiring the way his mind works. When she discovers that he has some classified information of his own, someone will stop at nothing to keep it under wraps. And soon, the two must fight both their mutual enemies and the powerful attraction that erupts between them.

Next up is book two from the Kristina Douglas series The Fallen.  Demon has a May 31st release date.

One of the first Fallen, Azazel is second in power only to Lucifer. And with the activation of a prophecy binding him in marriage to the Demon Queen, Lilith, he’ll be even stronger. But Azazel doesn’t want the power. After the death of his beloved mate, Sarah, he wanders the earth a lost soul, broken and disheartened. That is, until he decides to take matters into his own hands, to find the one woman who could take Sarah’s place as his wife…so he can kill her.

Also on May 31st is Concrete Savior, the second book in Yvonne Navarro‘s Dark Redemption series.

Once an irresistible, soul-destroying seducer of men and women through the ages, fallen angel Brynna Malak has fled Hell to seek redemption. But is such a thing possible? While dodging the brutal Hunters sent to retrieve her she must also save the life of a teenaged girl fathered by an angel and whose destiny is to complete a preordained task. At her side is a Chicago police officer who fights his undeniable attraction to her. And Brynna has made up her mind: she will die for eternity rather than return to Hell or give up her quest. Yet to continue, she must begin the long and difficult journey of learning to love and appreciate both the joys and the tragedies of being human.

Mystical Warrior is the third book in Janet Chapman‘s Moonlight Bay series, due out on June 28th.

Fiona Gregor is having a terrible time adjusting to being human again, mostly because she’s an eleventh-century Scottish lass who suddenly finds herself dealing with life in the twenty-first century. And according to her brothers, forcing her to live on her own in this scary new world is exactly what she needs. Tricked into renting his upstairs apartment to Fiona by her brothers, Trace Huntsman is less than thrilled to have the opinionated beauty around, especially when stray animals—and suitors—start following her home. When the wizard Macmillan Oceanus shows up in Midnight Bay, Trace reaches the end of his rope. But he can’t ignore the powerful magic that’s threatening his heart.

Cover number four is from Adrian Phoenix.  Black Heart Loa is a June 28th release.

From Alix Rickloff is the second book in her Heirs of Kilronan regency series featuring characters from a mysterious Irish family with roots going back to King Arthur.  Lord of Shadows should be available on June 28th.

After her father’s murder, Lady Sabrina Douglas retreated into the sanctuary of the cloister, becoming a Sister of High Danu, women devoted to the contemplative life of the otherworld. Unfortunately, when a man is found half-dead on a beach and brought to the care of the Sisters, Sabrina’s past catches up with her. Daigh MacLir has no memory of his past. Only a pressing feeling of an unresolved task and nightmares that torment him with images of another existence. It’s only when he realizes who he is—a soldier of Domnu sent to capture the Rylkoth Tapestry depicting the final resting place of King Arthur—that he realizes Sabrina Douglas will either save him from hell…or send him there for eternity.

The end of July will bring Shadow Fall, the next book from the Seressia Glass Shadowchaser series.

In a job like this, one mistake can cost you everything.
As a Shadowchaser, Kira Solomon has been trained to serve the Light, dispatch the Fallen, and prevent the spread of chaos. It’s a deadly job, and Kira knows the horror of spilling innocent blood. But now she has a new role, as the Hand of Ma’at, the Egyptian Goddess of Truth and Order, and an assignment that might just redeem her.
A fellow Shadowchaser has gone missing, and so has a unique artifact imbued with astonishing magic. Unless the Vessel of Nun is returned, it will cause destruction beyond anything the modern world has seen. Kira’s got a team at her back, including Khefar, a near-immortal Nubian warrior who’s already died for her once. But as complicated as her feelings for him are, they’re nothing compared to the difficulties of the task she faces.And the only way to defeat the enemy is to trust in a powershe can barely control, and put her life—and her soul—on the line.

Looks like the end of July will also bring the next book in Jeri Smith-Ready‘s WVMP series, this one called Let It Bleed.

Former con artist Ciara Griffin hopes to settle into a normal un-life as a fledgling vampire, with the help of her fiancé, grunge DJ/guitarist Shane McAllister. But when the WVMP crew reports that hippie vampire DJ Jim has murdered a pair of humans—humans who happen to share Ciara’s last name—that’s when trouble rolls out the red carpet. To redeem her past and pay back her most wounded victim, Ciara plans one final triple-crossing con game—with her own “miracle blood” as the bait. And as Ciara clings to what’s left of her humanity, she’ll need her new vampire strength—and old con artist cunning—now more than ever.

Hm.  Yeah.  Gotta admit, I giggled when I saw this one.  Enemy Mine is the August 30th follow up to Karin Harlow‘s Enemy Lover.

I am a big fan of Sharie Kohler‘s Moon Chasers series, so I was happy to get my hands on the almost finished cover for Night Falls on the Wicked, due out on August 30th.

Maria Lima will have Blood Sacrifice coming out on August 30th.  It is the fifth book in her Blood Lines series.

And number 12 is Kelly Gay‘s The Hour of Dust and Ashes.  It is also an August 30th release.

Each story is preceded by an author biography, which is one characteristic that I look for in anthologies of any kind.  I like to read about the author’s life and the circumstances that influenced their work.

Some standout stories -

• “For the Good of All” by Yvonne Navarro.  This story was a thriller from beginning to end.  While I was reading it, I thought I understood what was going on, and I couldn’t figure out why the author had chosen to be so mysterious.  By the time I finished the last word I realized that I had no idea what was going on, and the ending absolutely floored me.  I read it again, in fact, to make sure that I hadn’t left out any details.
• “The Crossing of Aldo Ray” by Weston Ochse.  The idea of roaming through a crowd of the undead has never been comforting, and I have often wondered how long I would last before I gave myself up for human and was eaten.  This story examines a man’s peril as he tries to cross international borders amidst the living dead.  The story makes for an interesting comparison of the struggles of illegal immigrants.
• “Cool Air” by H.P. Lovecraft.  This story is loosely a zombie story, but is nevertheless fantastic.  It centers around an eccentric shut-in and his unlikely friendship with another man who is renting in the same boardinghouse.  If you like Lovecraft – you know what I mean.  If you haven’t read his stories before – you need to !
• “The Silent Majority” by Stephen Woodward.  I couldn’t stop laughing during this story.  Richard Nixon comes back from the dead and has some very interesting advice for the new President of the United States during a new period of war.
• “The Long Dead Day” by Joe R. Lansdale.  This story is very short and very powerful.  A father must make a decision regarding a newly infected family member.  He must also decide what to do with himself and the surviving family after his decision.  [I’m sorry I can’t give a more complete description of this story.  Lansdale is very blunt and straightforward and the effect is something like receiving a blow from a red-hot icepick into the stomach.  I don’t want to ruin that for any potential readers.]
• “Tell Me Like You Done Before” by Scott Edelman.  Phenomenal.  A re-telling of the Steinbeck classic, Of Mice and Men, only with a few catches.  George and Lenny are plagued by zombies and are forced to go from house to house in order to escape them.  In this particular instance, what you kill pursues you until it kills you.  Considering it’s a retelling of a novel, it’s a short story but still manages to include the major events from the book.
• “Home Delivery” by Stephen King.  I have always been a fan of the great Stephen King.  I think what I like most about this story is his range of characters.  King’s leading lady starts out sheepish, abused, and insecure.  Through the tribulations of the rising of the hungry dead she finds strength in herself and changes her life forever.  It’s an inspirational story [of a sort] for anyone who has lost someone and isn’t sure what to do with themselves after.  The ending of it is both sad and hopeful.

If you are looking for a varied approach to zombies I strongly suggest this book.

Kat Falls
Dark Life (Dark Life, Book 1)
Simon & Schuster (AU: 1st October 2010)
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Ty has lived under the ocean for his entire life. Following global warming and the rise of the seas, his family joined an underwater community in hopes of living in the new frontier of the ocean floor. But when Ty meets Gemma, a girl from “topside”, who is searching the seas for her brother, she quickly makes his life very complicated. Together Ty and Gemma face dangerous sea creatures and venture into the frontier town’s rough underworld as they search for her missing brother. But the deeper they dig, the more attention they attract, and soon Ty and Gemma find themselves being hunted by a gang of outlaws who roam the underwater territories causing havoc, and who seem to have eerie abilities. But Ty has a secret of his own; living underwater for his entire life has meant he has also developed a “special” power. Can he keep it a secret from Gemma and his family or is it time for him to finally tell everyone the truth?

Sophie McKenzie
Blood Ransom (Blood Ties, Book 2)
Simon & Schuster (UK: 1st October 2010)
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Clones Rachel and Theo now live thousands of miles apart. They keep in touch, but things just aren’t the same. When Rachel discovers that evil scientist Elijah is still working in secret for a section of the government and about to murder Daniel, she sets out to rescue the little boy, but her plans backfire with disastrous consequences. Across the Atlantic, Theo becomes suspicious when Rachel misses their weekly internet chat. He discovers a report online saying she’s killed herself and travels to Scotland to find her, certain that she has been kidnapped. A clue leads him to Elijah’s mysterious clinic, where the sinister Aphrodite Experiment is underway. But what is Elijah really planning? Why does he need to track Rachel down so badly? And will Rachel and Theo be able to pay the ultimate ransom that he demands?

Jeff Somers
The Terminal State (Avery Cates, Book 4)
Hachette Orbit (AU: 1st October 2010)
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Avery Cates is in better shape than ever with the top-class augments the army’s fitted him with. Pity he’s no more than a puppet then, because they’ve also got a remote that can fry his brain at any second. And now a corrupt colonel is selling his controls to the highest bidder. Avery has visions of escape and bloody revenge – until he realises just who’s bought him. Because the highest bidder is Canny Orel himself, Avery’s oldest enemy. And as the System slides into chaos, Canny wants Cates to do one last job. Avery just needs one chance to get back at the old gunner – but this time, it’s Canny who’s holding all the cards.

Rachel Vincent
Alpha (Shifters, Book 6)
Harlequin Mira (US: 1st October 2010)
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The unscrupulous new Council chair has charged Jace, Marc, and me with trespassing, kidnapping, murder, and treason. Yeah, we’ve been busy. But now it’s time to take justice into our own hands. We must avenge my brother’s death and carve out the rot at the heart of the Council. It’s not going to be easy, and loss seems unavoidable, but I have promised to protect my Pride, no matter what. With a target on my back and Marc at my side, I’m heading for a final showdown that can – that will – change everything forever. A showdown I’m not sure I’m ready for. But life never waits until you’re ready.

Rachel Caine
The Morganville Vampires, Volume 2 (Anthology of Morganville Vampires, Books 3 & 4)
Penguin Signet (CA: 5th October 2010)
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Midnight Alley: Claire Danvers has pledged herself to Amelie, the most powerful vampire in town. But her protection doesn’t offer much comfort when people start turning up dead and an ancient bloodsucker extends a chilling invitation for private lessons in his secluded home, giving a terrifying new meaning to “night school”… Feast of Fools: The tenuous good-neighbour policy between the vampires and humans of Morganville is turned on its head with the arrival of bad-to-the-bone Mr Bishop. What the ancient old-school vampire wants from the town is unthinkably sinister. It’s only at a formal ball that Claire realises the elaborately evil trap Bishop has set for the warm-blooded souls of Morganville.

Megan Hart
Selfish Is the Heart (Order of Solace, Book 3)
Penguin Berkley (US & CA: 5th October 2010)
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To escape an arranged marriage, Annalise Marony finds a way out of her plight by becoming a Handmaiden of the Order of the Solace. Raised in the faith but long fallen away in its practice, Annalise is determined to play the part of a dedicated novitiate for as long as it takes to nullify her betrothal. But not just anyone is accepted into the Order, and Annalise finds herself thwarted at every turn – particularly by a man who deliberately misleads her as she tries to gain entrance to the Motherhouse. It is all a ruse to test her dedication, for Cassian is an ex-priest who teaches classes on the faith. Older than most of the girls, Annalise knows that she will be expected to please a patron in pleasures of the flesh – and she is not shy about teasing Cassian. But it is in matters of belief that he challenges her. And as both play out the game of master and student, the secrets in their souls will either tear them apart – or bind them together forever…

Amanda Marrone
Slayed
Simon & Schuster Pulse (US & CA: 5th October 2010)
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The Van Helsing family has been hunting vampires for over one hundred years, but sixteen-year-old Daphne wishes her parents would take up an occupation that doesn’t involve decapitating vamps for cash. All Daphne wants is to settle down in one place, attend an actual school, and finally find a BFF to go to the mall with. Instead, Daphne has resigned herself to a life of fast food, cheap motels and buying garlic in bulk. But when the Van Helsings are called to a coastal town in Maine, Daphne’s world is turned upside down. Not only do the Van Helsings find themselves hunting a terrifying new kind of vampire (one without fangs but with a taste for kindergarten cuisine), Daphne meets her first potential BF! The hitch? Her new crush is none other than Tyler Harker, aka the son of the rival slayer family. What’s a teen vampire slayer to do?

Alexander Gordon Smith
Fugitives (Furnace, Book 4)
Faber (UK: 7th October 2010)
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We broke out of Furnace but we’re still not free. The city is in lockdown; roads sealed; police everywhere. And there are worse things here – creatures of death sent to bring the world to its knees. I’m turning into one of them, into a monster. To put an end to this blood-crazed madness I have to travel into the heart of the darkness. I have to find Alfred Furnace before he finds me.

Trisha Telep (ed.)
The Mammoth Book of Paranormal Romance 2 (Anthology)
Perseus Running Press (US: 12th October 2010)
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This collection is filled with mythical beasts, magical creatures of all shapes and sizes, ghosts, angels, and mortals with extra-sensory perception. Twenty short stories, including those by Mary Jo Putney, Kelley Armstrong, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Cheyenne McCray, and Alyssa Day.

Becca Fitzpatrick
Crescendo (Hush Hush, Book 2)
Simon & Schuster (UK: 14th October 2010; US & CA: 19th October 2010)
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Nora should have known her life was far from perfect. Despite starting a relationship with her guardian angel, Patch (who, title aside, can be described anything but angelic), and surviving an attempt on her life, things are not looking up. Patch is starting to pull away and Nora can’t figure out if it’s for her best interest or if his interest has shifted to her arch-enemy Marcie Millar. Not to mention that Nora is haunted by images of her father and she becomes obsessed with finding out what really happened to him that night he left for Portland and never came home. The farther Nora delves into the mystery of her father’s death, the more she comes to question if her Nephilim blood line has something to do with it as well as why she seems to be in danger more than the average girl. Since Patch isn’t answering her questions and seems to be standing in her way, she has to start finding the answers on her own. Relying too heavily on the fact that she has a guardian angel puts Nora at risk again and again. But can she really count on Patch or is he hiding secrets darker than she can even imagine?

Stephenie Meyer
Breaking Dawn (Twilight Saga, Book 4)
Hachette Atom (UK: 14th October 2010)
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Questions will be answered and the fate of Bella and Edward will be revealed.

Jackie Morse Kessler
Hunger (Horsemen of the Apocalypse, Book 1)
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (US: 18th October 2010)
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Lisabeth Lewis has a black steed, a set of scales, and a new job: she’s been appointed Famine. How will an anorexic seventeen-year-old girl from the suburbs fare as one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse? Travelling the world on her steed gives Lisa freedom from her troubles at home – her constant battle with hunger, and her struggle to hide it from the people who care about her. But being Famine forces her to go places where hunger is a painful part of everyday life, and to face the horrifying effects of her phenomenal power. Can Lisa find a way to harness that power – and the courage to fight her own inner demons?

Andrea Cremer
Nightshade (Witches’ War, Book 1)
Penguin Philomel (US & CA: 19th October 2010)
Review
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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?

Anya Bast
Wicked Enchantment (Dark Magick, Book 1)
Penguin Berkley (AU: 25th October 2010)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
All eyes are on Gabriel Mac Braire the day he makes his first appearance in the Seelie Court, including those of Aislinn Finvarra. Despite deep bitterness over her last failed relationship, Aislinn cannot help but be curious about the half incubus who is known to possess dark magick, both lethal and sexual in nature. Rumours abound of the women who have become enslaved to his irresistible charms. So when the Summer Queen of the fae orders Aislinn herself to act as his guide in the court, she is understandably on guard. She’s fallen under the spell of far less persuasive men before. In addition, Gabriel might be more than he seems and his true mission is far from innocent. This time, Aislinn must protect not only her heart, but her very life…

S. L. Viehl
Dream Called Time (Stardoc, Book 10)
Penguin Roc (AU: 25th October 2010)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
Dispatched to investigate an unidentified ship that has emerged from a mysterious rift in space, Cherijo discovers technology far more advanced than anything she’s ever seen. Before she can unravel the alien ship’s mystery, Cherijo’s own ship is sucked into the rift and transported through time. Unless she can find a way to reopen the rift, they will remain trapped in another time. And Cherijo will never see her family – which she’s only just been reunited with – again…

Rachel Caine
Ghost Town (Morganville Vampires, Book 9)
Penguin NAL (US: 26th October 2010)
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While developing a new system to maintain Morganville’s defences, student Claire Danvers discovers a way to amplify vampire mental powers. Through this, she’s able to re-establish the field around this vampire-infested Texas college town that protects it from outsiders. But the new upgrades have an unexpected consequence: people inside the town begin to slowly forget who they are – even the vampires. Soon, the town’s little memory problem has turned into a full-on epidemic. Now Claire needs to figure out a way to pull the plug on her experiment – before she forgets how to save Morganville…

Yvonne Navarro
Highborn (Dark Redemption, Book 1)
Simon & Schuster (US & Canada: 26th October 2010)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
Everyone deserves a second chance. Brynna Malak might be the exception to the rule. Brynna is a fallen angel trying to earn redemption. She’s escaped from Hell in search of a new life on Earth, but Lucifer’s deadliest hunters are hot on her trail. Police Detective Eran Redmond is after her for a different reason: he needs Brynna to help him find a serial killer who is terrifying Chicago…and the trail leads them right to Hellspawned demons of the most dangerous kind. She’s also got a very human problem: dealing with a stubborn, attractive cop who makes her long for everything she knows she can’t have. Staying alive long enough to earn a shot at Heaven will mean breaking some major rules in the mortal world, as she learns just how complicated and wonderful being human can be. With so much stacked against her, even Brynna has to wonder if she’s crazy. But she’s not giving in without a fight. Not a chance in Hell…

Rebecca Lim
Mercy
HarperCollins (UK: 28th October 2010)
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Mercy doesn’t realise it yet, but as she journeys into the darkest places of the human soul, she discovers that she is one of the celestial host exiled with fallen angel, Lucifer. Now she must atone for taking his side. To find her own way back to heaven, Mercy must help a series of humans in crisis and keep the unwary from getting caught up in the games that angels play. Ultimately she must choose between her immortal companion, Lucifer, and a human boy who risks everything for her love.

Dan was lovely and had to tolerate me being horribly overtired and barely coherant as well as having to stop the interview so the hotel could hoover the room (I won’t discuss the hotel here, but dear god) but was charming and interesting. The interview will be posted on our audio interviews in the next couple of days with it’s own blog post so pop back for that.

(LeeAHarris all dressed up and on his way to a party)

I then went to hear Neil Gaiman interview James Herbert which was a relaxed and entertaining affair, I am sure others will blog extensively on this including Neil’s gaff with Guy N Smith which I think everyone found funny. James was an interesting interviewee and i’m now reconsidering checking out some of the older books having only read the Magic Cottage and Ghosts of Sleath.

Lunch with Steve Savile, Yvonne Navarro and Weston Ochse in a pub round the corner. Delcious food, yummy strawberry cider and lovely people. Yay.
In the afternoon I met Suzanne McLeod and managed not to squee and Vincent Holland-Keen who later joined Catherine from Writing East Midlands/Alt Fiction and I for Ghostwatch, which Catherine and I giggled all the way through (sorry everyone).
Got to the Stanza poetry signing and got my book signed by a few of the poets, including Neil Gaiman and Gollancz’s Jo Fletcher. (Mark Lachlan)
(Jenni, Andy Remic and Steve)

Had an Alt Fiction planning session over tapas with Catherine in the evening and met a few more of the guys involved in that. Then after the film it was back to the bar with Catherine, Jenny from Abaddon, Andy Remic and Steve.

Over the weekend I also go to meet the fabulous Joan de la Haye from Rebel e Publishing who publish Cat Connor’s books so as that was exciting and yeah, I gloated because Cat still hasn’t met her. Had some good chats with traders including the lovely lady we all know as Danacea from Forbidden Planet and the face behind the Atomic Fez, managed to only buy four books for me and one for the contest. I got to meet Lee Harris from Angry Robot and saw him looking very smart for the Stoker banquet and Sharon from DF Review and lots of other lovely people like Cath and her colleague from Titan books and Alisdair Stuart. If I didn’t mention you by name come and mention yourself in the comments.

(Vincent who didn’t get to see Ghostwatch in peace because Catherine and I had the giggles)

Completely amazing weekend and today I am happy and exhausted. Life is good.

I will do a round up of other people’s posts in a few days so you don’t miss anything.

Marta Acosta

Dave Baker

Elizabeth Bear

Leah Bobet

Laurie Brooks

Terry Brooks

Emma Bull

Charles de Lint

Amanda Downum

Eric Esquivel

Alice Hoffman

Nina Kiriki Hoffman

Jane Lindskold

Jeff Mariotte

Dennis McKiernan

Esther Mitchell

Seth Muller

Yvonne Navarro

Weston Ochse

Will Shetterly

Janni Lee Simner

Jeanne Stein

Joan D. Vinge

John Vornholt

Cynthia Ward

Catherine Wells

Susan Yarina

Timothy Zahn

Though many people will be attending the Festival for the books and authors, there will also be a lot of other things going on, including food, stage shows, and crafts for kids.  The Tucson Festival of Books is a fundraiser to support literacy efforts in southern Arizona, so the money is going towards helping people learn to read.  If you aren’t going, I highly recommend you change your mind.  It’s going to be awesome, and admission is completely free!

Cover by Splash: Photography by Simon Marsden

Stephen Jones – Introduction: Dancing with the Dark

Joan Aiken – My Feeling about Ghosts
Sarah Ash – Timeswitch
Mike Ashley – The Rustle in the Grass
Peter Atkins – Take Care of Grandma
Clive Barker – Life After Death
Stephen Baxter – The Cartographer
Robert Bloch – Not Quite So Pragmatic .
Ramsey Campbell – The Nearest to a Ghost
Hugh B. Cave – Haitian Mystères
R. Chetwynd-Hayes – One-Way Trip
A. E. Coppard – The Shock of the Macabre
Basil Copper – The Haunted Hotel
Peter Crowther – Safe Arrival
Jack Dann – A Gift of Eagles
Charles de Lint – The House on Spadina
Terry Dowling – Sharing with Strangers
Lionel Fanthorpe – Hands on the Wheel
Esther M. Friesner – That Old School Spirit
Gregory Frost – Twice Encountered
Neil Gaiman – The Flints of Memory Lane
Stephen Gallagher – In There
Ray Garton – Haunted in the Head
John Gordon – The House on the Brink
Ed Gorman – Riding the Nightwinds
Elizabeth Goudge – ESP
Simon R. Green – Death is a Lady
Peter Haining – The Smoke Ghost
Joe Haldeman – Never Say Die
James Herbert – Not Very Psychic
Brian Hodge – Confessions of a Born-Again Heathen
Nancy Holder – To Pine with Fear and Sorrow
M. R. James – A Ghostly Cry
Peter James – One Extra for Dinner
Mike Jefferies – A Face in the Crowd
Nancy Kilpatrick – Raggedy Ann
Stephen King – Uncle Clayton
Hugh Lamb – Go On, Open Your Eyes…
Terry Lamsley – Moving Houses
John Landis – Inspiration
Stephen Laws – Norfolk Nightmare
Samantha Lee – Not Funny
Barry B. Longyear – The Gray Ghost
H. P. Lovecraft – Witch House
Brian Lumley – The Challenge
Arthur Machen – World of the Senses
Graham Masterton – My Grandfather’s House
Richard Matheson – More Than We Appear To Be
Richard Christian Matheson – Visit to a Psychic Surgeon
Paul J. McAuley – The Fall of the Wires
Anne McCaffrey – Unto the Third Generation
Thomas F. Monteleone – Talkin’ Them Marble Orchard Blues
Mark Morris – A Shadow of Tomorrow
Yvonne Navarro – The House on Chadwell Drive
William F. Nolan – The Floating Table and the Jumping Violet
Edgar Allan Poe – Mesmeric Revelation
Vincent Price – In the Clouds
Alan Rodgers – Clinic-Modern
Nicholas Royle – Magical Thinking
Jay Russell – De Cold, Cold Décolletage
Adam Simon – The Darkness Between the Frames
Guy N. Smith – The Mist People
Michael Marshall Smith – Mr Cat
S. P. Somtow – In the Realm of the Spirits
Brian Stableford – Chacun sa Goule
Laurence Staig – The Spirit of M. R. James
Peter Tremayne – The Family Curse
H. R. Wakefield – The Red Lodge
Lawrence Watt-Evans – My Haunted Home
Cherry Wilder – The Ghost Hunters
Chet Williamson – A Place Where a Head Would Rest
Paul F. Wilson – The Glowing Hand
Douglas E. Winter – Finding My Religion
Gene Wolfe – Kid Sister

A Spectral vision …. The sound of phantom footsteps … An experiment in astral projection ….. A childhood premonition of disaster …. Possession by a voodoo god ….
An Ouija board that predicted death … A body kept alive by force of will ….. A cursed family name …

Such tales as these are more usually associated with horror books and movies. However, these anecdotes are absolutely true! They are ,just a sample of the real-life experiences recounted by some of the world’s most famous frighteners, from such bestselling authors as Stephen King and James Herbert, to actor Vincent Price and director John Landis.

Collected together for the very first time, many or the most successful and well-known exponents, along with rising stars of the horror field, relate their fascinating encounters with the supernatural, revealing how such unique experiences have affected their lives and influenced their works.

Even for the experts, when it comes to Unexplained phenomena, fact can be much more frightening than fiction …

See also Dancing With the Dark thread on Vault Of Evil

Thanks to Nightreader!

1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them.
5. Let each person know they’ve been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

And now, the facts:

1. Before my wife dragged me to the Arthur Murray Studio in Syracuse, I actively refused to dance.  Now we’re working on our “Silver” program, and I spend more time at the Oceanside Fred Astaire studio than she does.
2. When I signed up to attend the 1997 World Horror Convention in Niagara Falls, I checked off a box on the registration form that asked if I would be interested in “Readings”, thinking it referred to attending readings by other authors.  Imagine my surprise when we arrived at the hotel and my name was on the program as giving a reading.  After a period of horrified indecision where I debated whether or not I could do a reading without having a heart attack, I decided to go ahead with it.  I hadn’t brought any material with me (I was a very inexperienced WHC attendee), so I called my office and had my boss fax me the prologue to Night Watchman.  The reading was well-received, and indirectly led to the eventual publication of A Flock of Crows is Called a Murder when one of my co-readers started a publishing house called DarkTales the next year.
3. Also at the 1997 World Horror Convention, I managed to introduce my new friend who later started DarkTales to a well-known horror writer named Yvonne Navarro, even though I didn’t know her.  I didn’t manage to introduce myself, though.
4. I have two completed horror novels and a completed fantasy novel waiting for me to finish editing them, but instead of doing that, I spend most of my time creating amusingly doctored pictures of my dogs and cat.
5. I once got an e-mail from the office of Bill Todman, Jr., (who was involved in a little movie called X-Men, among others) asking about the rights to A Flock of Crows.  By that time DarkTales had shut down, and I was between agents.  I spent the next week or two frantically trying to get an agent to help me negotiate with Bill Todman’s office.  (I also got some advice from Dan Hooker, who suggested that it was quite common for producers to send out such feelers and then never contact the author again.)  I didn’t find an agent, and Bill Todman’s office never contacted me again or responded to my attempts to contact them.  Dan Hooker was a smart guy.
6. At the 2004 World Horror Convention, I handed out so many books to potential contacts and publishers that, when I met the acquisitions guy from Dimension Films, I only had one left (a copy of Night Watchman), when what I really thought would make a good film was A Flock of Crows.  I gave him Night Watchman, which Dimension eventually passed on developing.  I never heard a thing from anybody else I gave books to.

And there you have six facts about Jimmy.  And here are six tag-you’re-its:

1. S. Le, who I’m pretty sure doesn’t do memes like this, but what the heck
2. A Blog in the Rough
3. Write Meg!
4. No One of Consequence, in hopes she’ll start posting again
5. The Black Cat
6. Gina’s Public Diary