Urban Fantasy Weekend Report

INTERVIEWS and EVENTS at SciFiGuy.ca: 

Coming this week on Wednesday, December 2, I have a special guest post with the two Kelly's - that's Kelly Meding (Three Days to Dead) and Kelly Gay (The Better Part of Darkness) who will both be here to talk about their post-debut release experience.

This past week it has been my pleasure to interview Kathryn Smith and Lilith Saintcrow. Find out more about their latest releases and future projects. I have a giveaway for Kathryn Smith (both books from The Nightmare Chronicles) that ends Monday night and a giveaway of Betrayals, Lilith Saintcrow's newest YA release. Check the interviews for details.

Last week I spoke with Deborah Cooke/Claire Delacroix and the giveaway of a complete set of the Dragonfire series is still open until Monday night as well.

For Star Wars kiddies, the giveaway of five copies of Draw Star Wars®: The Clone Wars™ ends Monday night.

Remember to check my Author Events and Interviews schedule posted on my left sidebar for the most recent updates.

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AUTHOR and BOOK NEWS:

FREE READS:

• The prologue and first chapter of the forthcomng YA urban fantasy Hearts at Stake (My Love Lies Bleeding in Canada) ) by Alyxandra Harvey
• Kelly Meding's has two original serialized prequel stories for  her new urban fantasy Three Days to Dead posted at the Suvudu blog. The Hoarder: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3  | Part 4  | Part 5 and Pride Before Fall:  Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3
• A first chapter excerpt of Blood of the Demon by Diana Rowland

INTERVIEWS:

• Charlaine Harris (Sookie Stackhouse) on The Author Hour
• Diana Rowland (Blood of the Demon) at Wicked Lil Pixie
• Hideyuki Kikuchi (Wicked City) at Tor/Forge's Blog 
• Jennifer Rardin (Jaz Parks) at Amberkatze's Book Blog
• John Brown (Servant of a Dark God) at Fantasy Dreamer's Ramblings
• Julie Kagawa (The Iron King) at Liyanaland
• Kelly Gay at Debuts and Reviews
• Kelly Meding by Nicole Peeler
• L. J. Smith (The Vampire Diaries) on The Author Hour
• Laurell K. Hamilton (Anita Blake) on The Author Hour
• Liz Maverick (Crimson and Steam) by Carolyn Jewel
• Maggie Stiefvater at Anna's Book Blog
• Melissa de la Cruz (Blue Bloods series) at Bitten by Books
• P. C. Cast and Kristin Cast (House of Night series) on The Author Hour
• Sharon Ashwood (Scorched) at VampChix

Virna De Paul has sold the first two books in a new paranormal romantic suspense series about a unique special ops team whose members include a shapeshifter.

Suzanne Johnson sold urban fantasy novels Royal Street and the sequel River Road to Tor as part of a two-book deal. Royal Street is scheduled to be published in fall 2011. Royal Street was a finalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Award compeition. Publisher Marketplace had this [via Dark Faerie Tales] -

ROYAL STREET, in which a female wizard guards the border between Hurricane Katrina-beset NOLA and the Beyond, facing down a voodoo god and locating her missing mentor, and RIVER ROAD, in which she solves a series of cross-species murders as the River Styx bleeds into the Mississippi, and deals with a shapeshifting partner, undead Jean Lafitte, a newbie werewolf boyfriend, and a neighbor with a sinister agenda, for publication in 2010. 

Gena Showalter has started on the next Alien Huntress romance and is calling it Ecstasy in Darkness. Yasmine Galenorn is working on Blood Wyne the ninth book in the Otherworld series which is Menolly's third book. It would appear from her blog that third Vampire Memories book by Barb Hendee will be called Memories of Envy.

Gail Carriger says the date for the third Parasol Protectorate book Blameless has been moved up to September 2010.

Betrayals, the second in the Strange Angels series by Lilith Saintcrow will debut at #5 on the New York Times Children’s Paperback Bestseller list for Dec. 6th. Shadowland by Alyson Noel has landed me at #17 on the USA Today Bestsellers list.

In my interview with Lilith Saintcrow this week I asked about Flesh Circus and the future of the Jill Kismet series and here is what Lilith had to say -

Flesh Circus came from a conversation with my writing partner Mel Stirling, about why circuses are creepy. It's kind of a deep breath before we take the plunge into Heaven's Spite and Angel Town, which are the last planned books in the Kismet series. The last two books are really what I've spent all this time in Kismet's world gearing up for. We've seen a lot of hellbreed, and Jill suspects that the "other side" is not as opposed to Hell as we might assume.

In my interview with Kathryn Smith this week she revealed that like many urban fantasy/paranormal writers she is joining the young adult writing fraternity -

I am currently working on a Young Adult series for Harlequin Teen under the name Kady Cross. It’s a steampunk superhero book and so far has been a lot of fun!

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CONTESTS:

WORLDWIDE:

• Stumbling Over Chaos has a great giveaway of four signed copies of Soul of the Wildcat by Devyn Quinn, a new shapeshifter romance. Open until 7 pm CST, Friday, December 4.
  
• Amberkatze's Book Blog has a terrific contest with Jennifer Rardin including two autographed copies of Bite Marks, one autographed copy each of Once Bitten, Twice Shy, Another One Bites the Dust and Biting the Bullet. Ends tomorrow so enter quickly.
• Pat's Fantasy Hotlist has a blockbuster Del Rey/Bantam Spectra giveaway including -

- A signed copy of China Mieville’s The City and the City
- A signed copy of John Birmingham’s Without Warning
- A signed copy of Naomi Novik’s In His Majesty's Service
- Robert V.S. Redick’s The Red Wolf Conspiracy
- Peter V. Brett’s The Warded Man
- Terry Brooks’s A Princess of Landover
- Harry Connolly’s Child of Fire
- Jackie Kessler and Caitlin Kittredge’s Black and White
- Alan Deniro’s Total Oblivion More or Less
- Catherynne Valente’s Palimpsest
- An Advance Reading Copy of Kim Stanley Robinson’s Galileo's Dream

US and CANADA:

Suburban Vampire has a giveaway of How to Date a Vampire by Sophie Collins

CHECK FOR DETAILS:

Nancy Holzner is having an extravaganza of a contest to celebrate the launch of her forthcoming urban fantasy Deadtown. She'll be giving away a prize a week right up to release day. Here’s what you can win:
December 8: A Deadtown coffee mug (retail value $12) and a signed copy of the book.
December 15: A Deadtown tote bag (retail value $14) and a signed copy.
December 22: A 0.6 liter Sigg water bottle sporting Deadtown’s cover (retail value $20), plus a signed copy.
December 29: The Big Day calls for a big prize, so I’m giving away a Flip Mino HD video camera! This small, slim, lightweight camera records up to 60 minutes of HD video and shows off Deadtown’s cover. Its retail value is $199. Plus, of course, a signed copy of the book.
The contest begins on November 24 and ends on December 28 at 11:59 P.M. Eastern standard time.

Check out the extensive Urban Fantasy Giveaways Roundup at All Things Urban Fantasy

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MEDIA:

Author and Blogger Reviews:

• New Moon reviews by Nicole Hadaway, Lynn Viehl, Smexy Books, Babbling About Books and VampChix
• Mondo Vampire reviews The Vampire Diaries 

The Vampire Diaries is on hiatus until January 10.

I know the trailer for Bitch Slap has been out quite awhile but this past week they released an HD version. While they refer to the movie as a throwback to the B Movie/Exploitation films of the 1950s - 70s, it strikes me more as a Quentin Tarantino style spoof. And in the spirit of urban fantasy I think these are definitely some kick-ass ladies. The movie releases in January. If you are in to cheese this is sure to please.

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COVERS and ART:

KMont at Lurv à la Mode has a Cover Spotlight: Fantasy, Fabulous Fantasy including the next Jacqueline Carey cover.

Far from the land of her birth, Moirin sets out across Tatar territory to find Bao, the proud and virile Ch'in fighter who holds the missing half of her diadh-anam, the divine soul-spark of her mother's people. After a long ordeal, she not only succeeds, but surrenders to a passion the likes of which she's never known. But the lovers' happiness is short lived, for Bao is entangled in a complication that soon leads to their betrayal.

Tez Says has a preliminary cover for Wired by Robin Wasserman, the third book in her YA Crashed series and the Canadian/UK cover for Waking the Witch by Kelley Armstrong.

Kay at The Infinite Shelf has posted a series of painings featuring women reading title The Beauty of Reading

ImagineFX magazine contains a list of the 50 Best Living Artists, citing them as "the most innovative, influential and altogether mega fantasy and sci-fi artists alive today." They offer brief writeups of each artist named above as well as showcasing some of their awesome artwork. [via SF Signal]
Here's their list:

1. Frank Frazetta
2. Ralph McQuarrie
3. Moebius
4. Craig Mullins
5. John Howe
6. H.R. Giger
7. Drew Struzan
8. Syd Mead
9. Andrew Jones
10. Brom
11. Boris Vallejo
12. Linda Bergkvist
13. Marta Dahlig
14. Donato Giancola
15. Dave Gibbons
16. Rodney Matthews
17. Dave McKean
18. Jon Foster
19. James Jean
20. Bob Eggleton
21. Todd Lockwood
22. Yoshitaka Amano
23. Brian Froud
24. Frank Miller
25. Greg Hildebrandt
26. Bill Sienkiewicz
27. Ryan Church
28. Michael Whelan
29. Simon Bisley
30. Dan Dos Santos
31. Melanie Delon
32. Jason Chan
33. Adam Hughes
34. Jim Lee
35. Roger Dean
36. Stanley Lau
37. Masamune Shirow
38. Stephan Martiniere
39. Justin "Coro" Kaufman
40. Justin Sweet
41. Mike Mignola
42. Daniel Dociu
43. Greg Manchess
44. Katsuhiro Otomo
45. Hayao Miyazuki
46. Chris Foss
47. Peter Andrew Jones
48. J.S. Rossbach
49. Tara McPherson
50. Jason Manley

Cover art featured here this past week at SciFiGuy.ca included:

• "Her Vampire Husband" by Michele Hauf
• "Bound by Darkness" by Annette McCleave

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AROUND the BLOGOSPHERE:

Vampire Spoof [via Loving True Blood in Dallas]


Strictly for readers of a robust disposition, here are some of the passages highlighted for particular attention by the judges of the Literary Review's 2009 bad sex in fiction prize [via The Guardian UK]

Fantasy Dreamer's Ramblings has Free Reads and Giveaways Roundup for 11/25/09 as well as late November releases with review links.

Mid-week urban fantasy news round-up at Literary Escapism

Derek Tatum of Mondo Vampire talks Goth over at VampChix.

RKCharron has a fun post collecting a wide range of author experiences with rejection letters.

Ellz Reads has a mid-week recap of Intervierws and other urban fantasy news

"Best of" Lists:

Over the next month or so I imagine we will be seeing quite a few postings of Best of the Year and Favourite Reads etc. Lists are a great way to find books you may have missed or simply a fun way to compare your own picks.

• Mad Hatter's Bookshelf & Book Review has  RECOMMENDATIONS | Best Books of 2009 (That I've read)
• Fantasy Book Critic has Liviu's Top Authors of the 00's Part 1 - SF
• Renee's Book Addiction has her 2009 Top Reads

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QUOTABLE QUOTES:

Comparing a reader full of e-books to a room full of paper books is like comparing a pocket shrine to a temple; we are still monkey-like enough to be awed by size and number, and a good library trips the same circuits in my brain as a house of worship. I thrill to books en masse. This is the one place where my environmentalism is overruled by my decadence. If I could, I would swim in my books like Scrooge McDuck in his pool full of coins.
 - Rose Fox in a post at SF Signal about the pros and cons of ebooks

Teen daughter bought Rocky Horror soundtrack then discovered true horror--realizing she now owns an album her mother knows all the words to.
  - Kelley Armstrong on Twitter

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CANDID CAMERA:

Marjorie Liu on her visit to the Forbidden City

Kristin Cashore with some of her favourite things.

OK this isn't Seanan McGuire but her cat with an ARC.

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