Kalayna Price

Thanks everyone who sent me birthday wishes! I was traveling day of, but they made the day after feel like a second birthday. I had an absolutely wonderful birthday. Writers tend to be the biggest fans, and I was in total fan girl mode on Tuesday. As well as being my birthday, Tuesday was the release day for Black Magic Sanction by Kim Harrison. I am a huge fan of the Hollows series, so I decided to spend a chunk of my birthday at Kim's release party. I had a great time, snagged a personalized copy of Kim's new book, got my picture with Kim, and even ended up on her website . Then I went home and devoured the book. It was great. This year is going to be a big one, and there is a lot to do, so I better get back to it. Have a great weekend everyone!

Well, today ends a year for me and begins another. Because my birthday is so close to the first of the year, there isn't much point doing a wrap up. Basically, if you've been following along, my highlights and accomplishments are the same as my New Year post, A year in review with, of course, the addition of TWICE DEAD's release, ONCE BITTEN topping Amazon's Fantasy List over the holidays, and Twice Dead hitting #2 on Fictionwise's Dark fantasy list. (okay, maybe quite a bit has happened in the last two months.) Outside of my writing career beginning to, well, begin , one of the major influences/changes in my life this year was hoop dance. I talk about hooping quite a bit on twitter, and occasionally here on the blog, but today I decided to take a look at a visual archive of my year. I don't turn my camera on near far enough (perhaps a goal for this year) but, I found I did have several clips, which I compiled here for my your entertainment. My first year...

I have been behaving recently and not checking my sales rank on a regular basis, (okay, so 'behaving' actually means my deadlines are looming dangerously close and I haven't had time to cyber stalk my own sales) so when I received a message from my publisher letting me know Twice Dead had reached #2 on Fictionwise's  Bestselling Dark Fantasy list, I was taken completely by surprise. Wow, I totally hid the exciting information in the middle of that excessively long sentence. Let me try that again. Twice Dead is the #2 on Fictionwise's Bestselling Dark Fantasy List ! (That's better. ^_^) Okay, sorry, I had to take a short break and dance around my living room--again. Thank you everyone who has ordered the book! I hope you enjoy it! It looks like many of you are also picking up Once Bitten for the first time too, because Once Bitten has climbed to #12 on the Dark Fantasy list. Yes, I have two books in the top twenty dark fantasy bestsellers! To celebrate, I...

Recently I have spent far too much time locked in my office, escaping only for hooping related events. Now don't get me wrong, I love my office (and I love my ability to stay locked in it). And my office has everything I need. But sometimes having everything I need at my fingertips is exactly what I don't need. Sometimes I just need to change things up a bit. Today was definitely one of those days (and tomorrow will likely be too).  It was time to shake off the gloom creeping over my shoulders from too many hours spent at the same little desk tucked away in a corner and just get out. Not to take a break from writing but to get back into it. So, I packed up my laptop and my ipod and headed for one of my favorite places: the bookstore. Oh the dangers of the bookstore. I did get some good writing done (or, at least, I pumped out a decent number of words. Whether they are 'good' is a discussion for another time.) and I got a chance to discuss matters of various importa...

The Random number generator has spoken, and winners for cool Twice Dead items have been drawn! Congratulations to Pamela, Kailia Sage, and Rose Bassett! All winners please email me at contests(AT)kalayna(DOT)com. As I only have one of each item, please rank the prizes by which you'd like to receive most. Also, please indicate the address where you would like me to ship your prize. Thank you everyone who entered! If you didn't win, feel free to email me at the same address and include the word "bookmark" in the subject line and I will be happy to send you a bookmark for Twice Dead. I hope everyone is having a great Presidents Day!

(If you haven't entered yet, there are still a couple hours left to get your name in the drawing for cool Twice Dead stuff. Check it out here! ) The hubbie and I went to an early movie for Valentines day, and when I came back, I had the coolest surprise waiting on my front step. I didn't even know FEDEX delivered on Sundays, but there it was. I have now held my second book in my hands. How very cool! Happy Valentines Day everyone!

(If you haven't entered yet, there is still time to get your name in the drawing for cool Twice Dead stuff. Check it out here! ) Who said checking Amazon every couple hours wouldn't pay off (I mean, I wouldn't do that . . . ) If you've been waiting to order print copies of TWICE DEAD, it is now available at Amazon! I imagine the other major sites should have it up and listed soon, so stay tuned. In completely unrelated news, I live in a place it never snows. Never. (okay, not never , but it feels that way) Just the threat it might tends to garner school delays. Right now, I have five inches of snow in my front yard. I'm thrilled. Just in case it melts before morning, I went ahead and played in it tonight. I now have a snow demon guarding my porch. My puppy, who has never seen real snow, determined that it could both be played in AND eaten. Too cute! Happy Friday everyone. Be safe!

(If you haven't entered yet, there is still time to get your name in the drawing for cool Twice Dead stuff. Check it out here! ) My editor at Bell Bridge Books let me know today that Twice Dead has been printed and my copies are on their way, so expect the print version to show up on the major sites any time now. If anyone runs across a link, please feel free to let me know! Happy Friday everyone!

Well, the kindle version of books usually takes longer than the print version to become available, but in a strange turn of events, the kindle version for Twice Dead has shown up first. So, if you have a kindle, you can read Twice Dead HERE . To celebrate the release, I'm running a week long contest here on the blog. Here is what I'll be giving away: Three lucky winners will get your choice of one (1) of the following items. (I only have one of each available, so this will be a first picked, first choice kind of deal) -$15 Amazon OR Barnes and Noble Gift Card. -Twice Dead Promotional Mug -Twice Dead Promotional Notebook To enter, simply write a review for the first Haven novel, Once Bitten , and publish it somewhere on the web. Then leave a comment in this post linking to the review. You can review the book on your blog, on Amazon/B&N/BAM/Borders, Goodreads, Library thing, etc. If you have previously reviewed the book, feel free to link to that review. (If yo...

A friend who recently read Once Bitten asked me about why Haven vamps have a pulse even though they don't breathe. I thought it was a great question, so I blogged about it over at The Magic District today. Interested in knowing? Check it out here! One thing about writers, we love to talk about our books. (Unless you pin me down in public then I'll get all wide-eyed, check out the corners of the room, and tell you I write "about vampires and shapeshifters, and uh, stuff . . . " Yeah, I'm working on that.) Anyway, I do actually love talking about why I made decisions in my world building and characters, and I love hearing from readers, so, if you have questions, now is a great time to ask. I'll answer questions in posts over the next few weeks, so let's hear them. What are you wondering about? Happy Thursday everyone!

February is finally here, which means TWICE DEAD will be hitting shelves and e-sellers soon. To celebrate, I'll be having a month long party here on the blog. There will be giveaways, free fiction, guest blogs, and more. Also, I'll be starting up a blog tour soon, so stay tuned to learn where on the web I'll in the coming weeks. As many of you who have written me know, (thank you for all the emails,) I thought my release would be near the end of February, but I just found out today that Twice Dead should be out around the 10th! I'll post links as soon as I spot them, but if you find the book listed first, please do send it to me. Now, I have a treat for you. You might recall that when I posted the first chapter of Twice Dead I mentioned that I would release an extended excerpt closer to the release? Well, if you've read chapter one , you can now check out chapter two and a partial chapter three . I hope you enjoy! Happy Monday everyone!