First, huge congratulations to Amy Christine Parker, whose debut young adult thriller GATED is up for a YA Books Central Choice Award for Best Teen Horror/Thriller of 2013! To vote or to find new books to love, check out the Choice Awards here! (And if you want to check out GATED for yourself, there’s a free sampler available from Random House Children’s!)
Also, a quick reminder that I’m doing a GoodReads chat today from 1:30-3:30 pm ET. Even if you’re busy at the time, you can leave questions now and come back for the answers later or tune in any time to see what questions were asked and answered. If you’re here on my blog, you probably already know my relevant deets, but just in case, here’s a handy dandy bio:
Lucienne Diver joined The Knight Agency in 2008, after spending fifteen years with Spectrum Literary Agency in New York. Over the course of her dynamic career she has sold over seven hundred titles to every major publisher, and has built a client list of more than forty authors spanning the commercial fiction genres, primarily in the areas of fantasy, science fiction, romance, mystery, and young adult fiction. Her authors have been honored with the RITA, National Readers’ Choice, Golden Heart, Romantic Times and Colorado Book Awards, and have appeared on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists. Clients include such bestsellers as Rachel Caine, Chloe Neill, Faith Hunter, Rob Thurman, Susan Krinard, Kalayna Price and many others.
She’s also an author in her own right with her Vamped young adult series for Flux Books (VAMPED, REVAMPED, FANGTASTIC and FANGTABULOUS) and the Latter-Day Olympiansurban fantasy series for Samhain (BAD BLOOD, CRAZY IN THE BLOOD and RISE OF THE BLOOD), which Long and Short Reviews calls, “delightful Urban Fantasy, a clever mix of Janet Evanovich and Rick Riordan.” In addition, she’s written short stories and essays that have appeared in the Strip-Mauled and Fangs for the Mammaries anthologies edited by Esther Friesner (Baen Books), in Dear Bully: 70 Authors Tell Their Stories (HarperTeen) and the anthology Kicking Itedited by Faith Hunter and Kalayna Price (Roc Books). Further information is available on The Knight Agency website and her author site.
I’m excited to be chatting with the great folks at GoodReads this Friday, both as author and agent (though, unsurprisingly, most of the questions thus far are aimed at my agent-self). I hope you’ll join in! Questions can be posted any time, but I’ll be there from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. ET this Friday, January 10th. Ciao!
So many exciting book birthdays today! There’s BLACK ARTS, the new novel in Faith Hunter‘s New York Times bestselling Jane Yellowrock series, HOWLING FOR YOU, an e-novella in Chloe Neill’s NYT bestselling Chicagoland Vampiresseries, where we finally get things from Jeff Christopher’s perspective, and GRYPHON PRECINCT, the fourth novel in Keith R.A. DeCandido‘s fantasy police procedural series. So much goodness!
When Evan Trueblood blows into town looking for his wife, Molly, he’s convinced that she came to see her best friend, Jane. But it seems like the witch made it to New Orleans and then disappeared without a trace.
Jane is ready to do whatever it takes to find her friend. Her desperate search leads her deep into a web of black magic and betrayal and into the dark history between vampires and witches. But the closer she draws to Molly, the closer she draws to a new enemy—one who is stranger and more powerful than any she has ever faced.
Praise for the Jane Yellowrock Novels
“Jane’s world is a fully realized one, full of shapeshifters, Native American magic and folklore, baddies that will make your hair stand on end, and a heroine, that, despite her considerable skills, harbors plenty of vulnerability and self-doubt. If you love urban fantasy or just plain wonderful writing and world building, this is the series for you.” —My Bookish Ways
“Jane Yellowrock is smart, sexy, and ruthless.”—New York Times Bestselling Author Kim Harrison
“Seriously. Best urban fantasy I’ve read in years, possibly ever.”—C. E. Murphy, author of Truthseeker
“Jane is the best urban fantasy heroine around.”—Night Owl Reviews
Jeff Christopher is a shapeshifter and ally of Chicago’s Cadogan House of vampires—he’s also a tech whiz and mostly-legal hacker. And the only protective shields he’s never been able to find a way around are those of the powerful Keene Family.For a long time, Jeff has only had eyes for the beautiful Fallon Keene. Unfortunately, she is the only sister of the lethal North American Central Pack Apex Gabriel Keene. The intricate balances of power and politics make it all but impossible for Fallon to trust her feelings.But fate takes a hand when the Pack’s totem is stolen—threatening the Keene family’s rule—and Fallon enlists Jeff’s help to retrieve it before the Pack is thrown into chaos. Can she and Jeff find the totem, and restore order, before it’s too late? And will Jeff finally be able to prove himself to the only person he truly loves?
Includes an exclusive preview of the Chicagoland Vampires novel… WILD THINGS
“These books are wonderful entertainment.”—#1 New York Times Bestselling Author Charlaine Harris
“A strong minded, sharp-witted heroine who will appeal to fans of Charlaine Harris’s Sookie Stackhouse series and Laurell K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake.”—Library Journal
“If you loved Nancy Drew but always wished she was an undead sword-wielding badass, Merit is your kind of girl.”—Geek Monthly
Humans and elves, dwarves and gnomes, wizards and warriors all live and do business in the thriving, overcrowded port city of Cliff’s End, to say nothing of the tourists and travelers who arrive by land and sea, passing through the metropolis on matters of business or pleasure-or on quests. The hard-working, under-appreciated officers of the Cliff’s End Castle Guard work day and night to maintain law and order as best they can.
Cliff’s End is rocked by the death of Lord Albin. As soon as the funeral ends, Albin’s son Blayk takes over and starts instituting wholesale changes in how the Cliff’s End Castle Guard is run: enforced retirements of older guards (including Captain Osric), surprise promotions (including Grovis to replace Osric as Captain of the Guard), sword requalifications for all guards, and much more. Worse, Blayk has split up Lieutenants Torin ban Wyvald and Danthres Tresyllione and given them new partners. Lieutenant Dru, still devastated by the loss of Lieutenant Hawk, also has a new partner.
All three detectives catch separate cases, but the more they investigate, the more they realize that all three are related – and connected to a conspiracy that targets the King and Queen themselves!
Praise for the Precinct novels:
“All in all, this is a fascinating excursion in genre-bending; it’s worth a try even for readers who usually take either their procedurals or their fantasies unadulterated.” -Booklist
“Beneath the swords and sorcery is a well-constructed set of hardboiled mysteries; Dragnet in a Dungeons and Dragons setting. Keith DeCandido’s first original novel (he has written several tie-ins) is a well-paced, entertaining read.” – Reviewing the Evidence
Also, Amy Christine Parker (author of the acclaimed YA thriller GATED) and I got together over the weekend and had some fun with our YA Rebels video on The Top Ten Things Never to Say to a Writer. We hope you enjoy!
Happy New Year everyone! May yours be filled with magic and all that is miraculous!
Logging on just briefly today today, because I can’t resist letting you all know that Ramez Naam’s incredible SF thrillers NEXUS and CRUX are are Kindle Daily Deals. Today only they’re $1.99 each and practically a steal at the price, so check them out! (Yes, that is an order.)
And now, since it is the weekend, I am off to do weekend-y things. Ta!
I have to wish a fantastically happy book birthday to debut author Marie Langager, whose wonderful young adult science fiction novel BEYOND OUR STARS, released today as part of Bloomsbury Spark’s launch line. So exciting!
Cover Copy:
Fleeing a destroyed Earth, seventeen-year-old orphan Hope grew up living in the confines of a spaceship heading to CR-3, a new home planet. She’s been kicking the steel walls for too long and ever since she broke her boyfriend’s heart, touchdown could mean open air and a fresh start. But no one expected the Locals.
Hope’s dreams of freedom turn into nightmares when the Locals trap the humans and mark groups for observation. At any moment she can be called into a holographic observation room for testing. Some days she’s drowning in a strange dark ocean, some days she’s locked up without food, and all with the one boy she can’t seem to forget.
As the Locals study Hope, she studies them. She wants to believe the tall grey creatures could be peaceful, but as the simulations become more dangerous, Hope is about to become the human race’s last chance for survival.
_____________________
In other news, there are still 13 hours left to get in on Chloe Neill‘s great giveaway! One lucky person will win:
Chicagoland Vampires bookmarks, pens, and buttons;
Two signed, international copies of the CV books.
Check her blog for details. And don’t forget, her enovella HOWLING FOR YOU, set in her Chicagoland Vampires world, is set to release January 7th, though you can pre-order now! (WILD THINGS, the next series Chicagoland Vampires book is coming the very next month on February 3rd).
Last, but not least, The Knight Agency has three (!) authors up on this round of Addicted 2 Heroines’ Hottest Heroine Cover contest – J. Kathleen Cheney, Gena Showalter and Nalini Singh! You can check out all of the great covers here and vote for a chance to win an Amazon gift card or books from the Book Depository ($30).
Okay, so much good! First, happy one-day-belated book birthday to Faith Hunter and Carol Malcolm, whose JANE YELLOWROCK WORLD COMPANION came out in digital yesterday and is available everywhere! They’re having a release party starting at noon today (though you can RSVP now) over at Bitten by Books and giving away a $50 gift card! Also new and exciting, Audible has just released an audio collection of Jane Yellowrock stories called CAT O’NINE TALES, which is available here. (Incidentally, Jane Yellowrock made the Barnes & Noble Book Blog’s list of “The 10 Most Badass Women in Fantasy Literature”.)
Congratulations to R.S. Belcher whose amazing debut novel THE SIX GUN TAROT has now made two (count ‘em, 2!) Best of the Year lists:
Faith Hunter’s BLACK ARTS cover won one of the first rounds of voting for the Hottest Heroine Covers 2013 at Addicted 2 Heroines. I count two Knight Agency authors (I’m sensing a numerical theme here) in the 3rd round voting: Chloe Neill and Kerry Schafer. Go, see for yourself which is your favorite. You might win a $30 Amazon Gift card (US/CA) or $30 in books from the Book Depository (INT) via their Rafflecopter giveaway.
Speaking of giveaways, if you haven’t checked out J. Kathleen Cheney’s debut THE GOLDEN CITY (which, incidentally, made Library Journal’s list of Best Books of 2013:SF/Fantasy), GoodReads is giving you the chance to win one of eight copies. Twenty-nine days left to enter. That’s more than the shopping days left until Christmas!
First, Tuesdays YA Rebels (aka me and Amy Christine Parker) offer up great gift ideas this holiday season for readers and writers. If you’re one of the above, you might want to discretely post this link somewhere like your Facebook page to give your significant other ideas!
Also, I’m up at Magical Words today, kvelling about my new release in the excellent KICKING IT anthology and talking about my version of the Greek Gods!
I started my blog in February 2008. (Before it was here, it was over on LiveJournal at http://varkat.livejournal.com.) This means that I’ve been blogging for about six years now. In that time so much about the industry has changed that my earliest blogs sound like nostalgia for some bygone era when people still sent paper submissions and agents and editors developed chronic back pain lugging manuscripts back and forth to work.
Now I vlog for the YA Rebels; I blog monthly with Magical Words; and I do guest posts and interviews for various and sundry other sites on a regular basis. I haven’t said all there is to say, because the industry is ever-evolving. But sometimes it feels like that. Because of my extensive client list and the fact that I’m a published writer myself, sometimes it seems that the only time/energy I have left for my blog is for good news and happy book birthdays. (And the occasional guest blog from others or worldbuilding series, which you can find here, here and here.)
So, my question to you all is: are you still interested? Are you still tuning in? If so, do you have any suggestions for keeping things fresh? Topics you’d like me to cover in the new year?
Your feedback will be invaluable for letting me know whether I should go on and in what manner. So, I won’t exactly say, “Speak now or forever hold your peace,” but you get the idea.
It seems the days when I could count on things being quiet enough to post a leisurely blog are far behind me, so I’m a couple of days late posting my happy book birthdays for the week. Here are some great, great reads just out!
KICKING IT edited by Faith Hunter and Kalayna Price
This is am amazing urban fantasy anthology featuring, as the cover says, “All-New Tales of Murder, Magic, and Manalos”. Okay, not all the boots are Manolos, but, hey, alliteration…what can you do? Featured here are some of the very top names in urban fantasy…and me. Awesome stories from Rachel Caine, Chloe Neill, Rob Thurman, Faith Hunter, Kalayna Price, Christina Henry, Chris Marie Green, Shannon K. Butcher and (last but least), me. Really, seriously worth checking out!
Amanda Quick said, “Susan Krinard was born to write romance.” I couldn’t agree more. She’s won the Romantic Times Career Achievement Award for Contemporary New Reality, as well as many Readers’ Choice, PRISM and other awards for her paranormal romance. NIGHTMASTER is the second in her exciting Nightsiders series for Harlequin’s Nocturne line (the first is DAYSIDER).
Award-winning author Beth Cornelison’s latest release is in the very popular Coltons of Wyoming continuity series.
Cover copy:
Join the Coltons of Wyoming for a holiday showdown at Dead River Ranch
Deep undercover, Wyoming special agent Slade Kent comes to Dead River Ranch with only one thing in mind: justice. Bent on solving a string of recent crimes, as well as his father’s long-unsolved murder, he won’t let down his guard for anyone. Until beautiful heiress Amanda Colton and her baby are attacked. He’ll do anything to protect them…even put his heart on the line.
Amanda’s done with deception, but the irresistibly mysterious Slade draws her trust. When danger—and uncontained passion—spark, they must both put aside secrets and agendas for survival…and love?
I want to take a second out of the insane preparations for the holiday to talk about what I’m thankful for this season. (Full disclosure: someone else in my family is hosting Thanksgiving and my husband is cooking our contributions, so mostly this involves me trying to get a week’s worth of work done in two days.)
-I’m thankful for a life spent doing what I love – working with brilliant, creative people and being part of the publishing world, which gave me so much as a child and continues to fulfill me.
-I’m thankful beyond words for my family, who love, support, amuse and surprise me on a daily basis.
-I’m grateful for the agency where I started out (Spectrum Literary Agency) and the agency I’m part of now (The Knight Agency), which is made up of such amazing, supportive, forward-thinking and tireless people.
-I’m thankful for my friends, who put things in perspective for me and who are always there to love, support and sometimes kick me in the pants.
Yes, today is a good day. I hope it is for you all as well and that you have lots to be thankful for this holiday season.
Lucienne Diver's Drivel 