It looks like there’s a publisher who may be interested in the Crosspointe books. If so, we’re looking at seeing an end to the series! Wahoo!

Originally published at www.dianapfrancis.com. You can comment here or there.

The first volume of Shadow Unit is now available as a proper paper book with a gorgeous Kyle Cassidy cover.

It will be available through Amazon within a week, and will slowly filter its way through the rest of the online distribution system.

This volume contains the first half of Season 1. Volume 2 should be available in about a month, with other volumes to follow.

And of course, Shadow Unit in its entirety is available for free online, and as a modestly priced ebook through the usual sources.

The story began in 2007, and will end in 2013. It's not too late to discover one of the coolest collaborative serials in the genre internets!

I have just gotten four* advanced reader’s copies for BABA YAGA’S DAUGHTER to give away. They’re softcover, uncorrected proofs, and actually if the book itself looked like this I would be quite delighted, but it’s going to be even more gorgeous and splendid, so don’t forget to pre-order your copy. :)

But at $40, it’s also going to be expensive. So here’s how this give-away is going to go:

Everybody reading this post, at whatever site you’re coming from (Facebook, Goodreads, Livejournal, mizkit.com, cemurphy.net, G+, Twitter) can put in their name once for a random draw. I’ll give two of the books away that way.

The other two I want to give to people who can genuinely not afford the $40 price tag on the book. Obviously this is on the honor system, but generally I find my readers to be extremely good people, so I’m going to trust you on this. Leave a comment or, if you prefer to keep the request private, send an email to cemurphyauthor@gmail.com, saying you’d like to be in for the Budget Giveaway. You don’t have to offer up details; it’s not going to be a Saddest Story Wins scenario, but rather another random draw from the second pool of names.

All I request–and this is of all four winners–is that you write a review of the book and either post it on your own blog & give me a link for it, or provide it to me so I can post it for you. I’ve never had a short story collection before, so I’d like to see it get some traction, and this is how you guys can help give it some.

So. That’s how this works. The contest ends sometime Monday, May 21st, so comment before then. Ready set go!

*technically five but I’M KEEPING ONE because i almost never ever ever get ARCs! also so i can do proofs on it. :)

(x-posted from the essential kit)

Author Julianne Lee offers some thoughts on why she loves to read -- and write -- time travel stories.
I adore time travel stories. As far back as H.G. Wells and Mark Twain, the concept of time travel has given us the opportunity to examine how things change and how they stay the same. It is the ultimate fish-out-of-water scenario, and it’s one of my favorite to write because the possibilities are limitless.
Nearly any type of story can involve time travel. Take, for instance, “The Time Traveler’s Wife” by Audrey Niffenegger, which is one of the most romantic stories I’ve ever read. Henry DeTamble, somewhat like Kurt Vonnegut’s Billy Pilgrim in “Slaughterhouse Five,” becomes unstuck in time and spends his life shifting back and forth between present, past and future. Sometimes knowing what will happen, and yet never knowing when, Henry examines his life from a rare perspective. But “The Time Traveler’s Wife” is not categorized as science fiction, or even fantasy. Nor even romance. And that, to me, is a good thing. All fiction should be fluid of genre.

In writing stories of time travel, the field of genre can be quite open, but I believe there are certain rules that must be followed, for the same reasons we adhere to spelling and grammar conventions. It aids communication. Not so much to be rigid about tropes, but for the story to make logical sense. As in any world building, regardless of genre, consistency is key.

Read the rest of her essay here: Deborah J. Ross: GUEST POST: Julianne Lee on Time Travel

I am sharing this because I think it's important, and because I think Maria breaks it down better than I could, on a wee travel keyboard. And I like the card analogy - I have a card for being raised American white collar middle-class, and I'm always aware that education dealt me an invaluable card that cannot be underestimated (and why I think a well-rounded education is still the best gift we can give the next generation). It's not "discrimination" or "blaming" to ask us to be aware of those benefits and mindful of them.
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Originally posted by marialima at It’s not about winning or losing, it’s how you play the game

• Tue, 12:34: 1/2 my to do list for the day is done, even my writing. What's left is big stuff though: house cleaning, editing 2 novels, dinner, & dishes.
• Tue, 12:48: Meatballs tonight, which means rice, I guess. Hitting the near empty pantry syndrome. lol
• Tue, 13:03: *wonders if she can get some editing done before the boy gets home and it's time to do house work*
• Tue, 13:04: Trying to figure out what the heck I did to the side of my right knee for it to be so sore.
• Tue, 13:05: RT @Reuters: Apple and five publishers lose bid to dismiss class action lawsuit over e-book price-fixing allegations - NY court document
• Tue, 13:07: The price fixing thing is just so wrong. I think paying more than $10 for an ebook is a bit much, but Amazon was price fixing first. :P
• Tue, 13:08: Why else would they strong arm publishers to price the way they wanted by removing books. To fix the price! Duh.
• Tue, 13:19: You guys having me adding more ebooks to my Nook wish list. I wants! I has no money, but I wants! :P
• Tue, 13:23: RT @BookEndsJessica: Uff. “@angelajames: I promise to never write--or even think--anything like this in email to author: http://t.co/yul ...
• Tue, 13:36: RT @cleolinda: RT @scalzi: In which I explain why "Straight White Male" is the lowest difficulty setting in the game of life: http://t.c ...

( Read more... )

This is an infographic on how a book is born. Beverage warning.

Originally published at www.dianapfrancis.com. You can comment here or there.

I'm eating Cap'n Crunch and drinking diet coke and writing. Who's with me?

I've just posted the book discussion for Michelle Sagara's new book Silence, the first book in The Queen of the Dead series, over at the DAW Books blog (dawbooks). Anyone here read it yet? It certainly looks significantly different from Michelle's other books. If you haven't heard of it, swing on by and check it out!

We're now ready to start discussing the May releases from DAW and the first up is the hardcover release of Michelle Sagara's Silence, the first book in The Queen of the Dead series. I haven't gotten to this one yet, but what about you guys? It's certainly looks significantly different from Michelle's other books.





Cover Copy: Ever since her boyfriend Nathan had died in a tragic accident, Emma had been coming to the graveyard at night. During the day she went through the motions at her prep school, in class, with her friends, but that's all it was. For Emma, life had stopped with Nathan's death. But tonight was different. Tonight Emma and her dog were not alone in the cemetery. There were two others there--Eric, who had just started at her school, and an ancient woman who looked as though she were made of rags. And when they saw Emma there, the old woman reached out to her with a grip as chilling as death. . . .

Emma was not quite like other teenagers. It was true that other girls had experienced grief. Other girls had also lost their fathers or had their boyfriends die in a senseless accident. But though she hadn't known it till that night in the graveyard, unlike those other girls, she could see, touch, and speak with the dead. In fact, Emma could draw upon the essence of the dead to work magic. That was what Necromancers did. But Emma had no desire to be a Necromancer. She just wanted to help the ghosts who walked the streets of Toronto, unable to escape from the land of the living. And that was just as well, because had she chosen the path of the Necromancer, Eric would have had to kill her.

Instead, Eric and his fellow Necromancer hunter Chase found themselves violating every rule they were sworn to follow, becoming part of Emma's group, helping her to stand against those who preyed upon the dead. But whether Emma and her friends could survive such a battle was anyone's guess. And whether Emma could learn to use the magic of the dead against her enemies without herself falling victim to the lure of such power remained to be seen. Eric seemed to think she could, and her living friends would never abandon her. But only time would tell what Emma's true destiny was. . . .