NY Comic Con Schedule

I can't believe NY Comic Con is only days away. I realized that I haven't posted my schedule for the convention yet, so I should probably do that, huh? I hope to see you there!


Friday, October 12th:

1:30 -2:30 PM, 1A14

PANEL: PASSION, POWER, AND PARANORMALS!
Description: Authors discuss the inclusion of romantic elements in their action-packed novels. If dating the undead wasn’t tricky enough, these protagonists must also battle the forces of evil while trying to keep their sanity and the world safe from destruction. Moderator Jocelyn Davies (Author of A Beautiful Dark and A Fractured Light; Editor at Razorbill/Penguin Young Readers)will have the authors divulging the steamy details behind creating their characters and their tricky love affairs.

3:15–4:15 PM AUTOGRAPHING: PASSION, POWER, PARANORMALS

Saturday, October 13th: 
2:45--3:45 PM, 1A01
PANEL: GENRE-BENDERS: Out-of-the-box Science-Fiction and Fantasy Novels that blur the lines of fantasy, SF, horror, romance, steampunk, you name it! 
Join authors in a discussion about stories that can’t be bound by the constraints of any genre.  Whether mixing elements of romance with horror, or fantasy with thrillers, these authors show that a good tale can be spun from multiple traditions.
Autographing session for panel 4:45PM – 5:45PM

Dragon*Con Schedule

Dragon*Con is just a few days away and I'm getting everything packed and ready. Here is where I'll be during the con:

• Title: Frightening Folklore
  Description: look at the ways folklore is used in dark fantasy fiction
  Time: Fri 5:30 pm Location: Embassy C - Hyatt (Length: 1 Hour)
  
• Title: Reading: Kalayna Price
  Time: Sat 01:00 pm Location: Marietta - Hyatt (Length: 1 Hour)
  
• Title: You Are What You Fight
  Description: How heroes identify (or not) with their monstrous foes
  Time: Sat 7:00 pm Location: Embassy C - Hyatt (Length: 1 Hour)
  
• Title: Creating Memorable Characters
  Description: Never to early to start developing the best characters possible. What's the secret? Learn from the pros.
  Time: Sun 11:30 am Location: Embassy D-F - Hyatt (Length: 1 Hour)
  
• Title: Bell Bridge Spotlight
  Description: Focus on Bell Bridge Books
  Time: Sun 2:30 pm Location: Embassy D-F - Hyatt (Length: 1 Hour)
  
•  Title: The Perfect Blend: Genre Mixing in Urban Fantasy
  Description: Urban fantasy has been romantic, mysterious, magical. What makes the perfect blend?
  Time: Mon 11:30 am Location: Fairlie - Hyatt (Length: 1 Hour)

 I have a booth in the exhibitors hall again this year (Booth 100) and you can find me there periodically throughout the weekend. In particular, I'm scheduled to be there at the following times:

Friday: 1pm – 4pm

Saturday: 10am -12pm

             2pm – 4pm

Sunday: 9:30 am -11:30am

Monday: 1pm -4pm

 I look forward to seeing you there!

Answering your Questions

Hey everyone. First off, let me apologize for being terribly behind on emails and for not responding to tweets/facebook messages/comments recently. I have been dealing with some unavoidable issues and have been unavailable. Hopefully I will be able to catch up in the next few weeks.

First off though, I thought I'd answer some of the most common questions I've been receiving.

The Alex Craft novels:
-Yes, there will be more Alex novels! The fourth novel has a tentative title of Grave Visions and will be released next year. A total of six books are currently under contract.
-An Alex Craft short story will be released in the Kicking It anthology next year. Currently I'm leaning toward a story focused on Briar Darque.

The Haven Novels:
-Third Blood release date: I will let you know as soon as I have a date. I wasn't happy with the writing so it got pushed back while I fix it.

Upcoming Appearances:
-Dragon*Con: I'll be in Atlanta next weekend for Dragon*con. In the next post I'll list my panel schedule.
-New York Comic Con: I'll be in New York October 11th-14th for Comic Con.
-Signing in Athens, GA. I'll be in Athens in late October (exact date to come) for a signing with several other awesome writers.

Okay, I think those are the main questions I've been receiving (based on a quick glance--I'm sorry I haven't had the time or opportunity to read most.) I'll post my Dragon schedule in the next blog.

Third Blood Cover

Things have been busy here lately, so I apologize for the lack of posts, but today I'm very happy to reveal the cover for THIRD BLOOD! I really love this cover--it fits the story wonderfully.

So what do you think?

Oh, and don't forget--Tonight I'll be in Rockhill with Faith Hunter and D B Jackson at the Booknack. I hope to see you there!

Online Live Release Party chat winners

Hey everyone. I just wrapped up the Live Release party on Google Air. Thank you everyone who attended and major thanks to everyone who asked questions and saved me from talking to myself for an hour. I apologize for the sound quality--I should have tested things out more but 8pm crept up on me. I announced winners to the FMT contests as well as prize winners during the release. If you are one of them, please write me at CONTESTS (AT) KALAYNA (DOT) COM.

In case you missed the announcement, those winners were:
Release party winners: Heather and Derek
Blood and Bullets winner: Molly
Hard Day's Knight winner: Sophie
Eli Monpress omnibus winner: Elizabeth.

Congrats all winners and thank you again everyone who attended the release!

Grave Memory Signings and Parties

[one more day left to enter to win books by James Tuck, John Hartness, and Rachel Aaron!]

Hello everyone. It is Monday, July 2nd and there are less then ten hours left until GRAVE MEMORY officially goes on sale. I almost can't believe it--only that I can because that churning giddiness filling me says it is true. I'm so excited that you guys are going to be able to read the book tomorrow!

Which leads me to my plans to celebrate the release. I have a number of signing stops for this release ( I'll discuss those in a moment) but I know not everyone will be able to make it to one of the live events.  So, I will be doing a live, interactive chat tomorrow from 8-9pm EST on Google air. I'll announce winners, give out prizes, do an on-air reading, and of course answer questions from you guys (so please plan to "attend" so I won't be talking to myself for an hour.) I'll put the link up on the blog/facebook/and twitter tomorrow, so look for it!

I'm also doing a number of in person events in the next few weeks including:

July 7th: Grave Memory release party and second annual Fantastical Mystery Tour. This year we once again will have lots of great authors for the event, including Rachel Aaron, James Tuck, John Hartness, AJ Hartley, Misty Massey, and possibly more! We'll be at the Barnes and Noble on Forest Drive in Columbia, SC from 4-7pm and will do two talks, a Q&A, a signing, and drawings for free stuff (including a nook!) Mark your calanders, this is an event not to be missed. 

July 8th: Signing at Barnes and Noble at 10000 Research Blvd in   Austin, Texas from 3-5pm.

July 15th: Signing with Faith Hunter and D B Jackson at The Booknack in Rockhill, SC from 6-8pm.

July 16th: Signing with Faith Hunter and D B Jackson at Barnes and Noble on Harbision in Columbia, SC from 6-8pm

July 17th: Signing with Faith Hunter and D B Jackson at Books-a-million in Charlotte, NC from 6-8pm.

I hope you'll join me for some of these events. I'd love to see you. Okay, now to go write so I don't start pacing and counting down the hours until the release. ^_^

Happy Monday everyone.

Fantastical Mystery Tour: Spotlight Rachel Aaron

[Check out the spotlight on John Hartness and James Tuck for a chance to win more books!]

Continuing our series of Fantastical Mystery Tour authors is Rachel Aaron, an amazing author and good friend of mine. She told me to tell you that she is an absolute genius and to read her books. *Ahem* Moving on. ^_^ (She really is a genius and you should read her books, btw--I just like picking on her.)

Rachel writes an adventure fantasy series called the Legend of Eli Monpress about a charming wizard thief and all the trouble he gets into. This series is rather hysterical (the first scene includes the main character conversing with a door. Really you have to check it out) but it has a lot of depth and not a little bit of darkness too. If you like adventure fantasy, you should definitely check out Spirit Thief, which is now available as part of an omnibus with the first three books in the series.

I'm carrying on again, so I'll skip to the description of the book.

Eli Monpress is talented. He's charming. And he's a thief. But not just any thief. He's the greatest thief of the age - and he's also a wizard. And with the help of his partners - a swordsman with the most powerful magic sword in the world but no magical ability of his own, and a demonseed who can step through shadows and punch through walls - he's going to put his plan into effect. The first step is to increase the size of the bounty on his head, so he'll need to steal some big things. But he'll start small for now. He'll just steal something that no one will miss - at least for a while.

Like a king.

---

About Rachel:

Rachel Aaron is the author of The Legend of Eli Monpress series, an adventure fantasy about a dangerously charming gentleman thief who also happens to be a wizard, his swordsman, their monster, and the poor bastards who have to try and stop them from stealing whatever they like. The fourth book in the series, The Spirit War, has just been released. You can learn more about Rachel and read free chapters at www.rachelaaron.net

---

Now is the time I give something away! (I'm going to go broke at this rate. LOL But I love you guys and I want to give you chances to win lots of things.) Today I'm giving away a copy of THE ELI MONPRESS omnibus. To enter simply leave a comment on the blogger blog letting me know the first fantasy book you ever read. I'll announce the winner Tuesday July 3rd during the online release party for GRAVE MEMORY. (contest open internationally)

And remember, all authors in this series will be at the Fantastical Mystery Tour on Saturday, July 7th from 4-7pm at the Barnes and Noble on Forest Drive in Columbia, SC. I hope you'll come out and see us in person!

Okay, I'm headed off to FandomFest! The series will continue while I'm gone, so check back. And if you're going to FandomFest, I hope you'll stop by to chat. I'd love to see you!

Fantastical Mystery Tour: Spotlight on John Hartness

[If you missed the first post in this series, click here to see more info on James Tuck and don't forget to enter to win a copy of Blood and Bullets!]

For the second post in the Fantastical Mystery Tour series, I'd like to move the spotlight to the amazing and completely unconventional John G. Hartness. I first met John at RoundCon and I've made a point of running into him at other events because this guy is awesome. He's an unabashed redneck who writes about snarky vampires (among other things)--what's not to love? He's had a rather unusual path to publication and considers himself a hybrid writer as he both self-publishes and traditionally publishes his work. I don't usually talk about many self-published books, but John has a voice that will entangle you from the first page. I laughed so much while reading HARD DAY'S KNIGHT, the first book in the Black Night Chronicles, that the head minion came to see what I was reading. John also recently started a youtube book review/interview series where he pairs books with drinks. If you want to laugh, check it out HERE.

And now more about Hard Day's Knight:

Children are missing.

The police are stumped.

Halloween is coming, with an ancient evil on the horizon.

The vampires are the good guys.

This is not your ordinary fall weekend in Charlotte, NC. Vampire private detectives Jimmy Black and Greg Knightwood have been hired to keep a young client from being cursed for all eternity, but end up in a bigger mess than they ever imagined.

Suddenly trapped in the middle of a serial kidnapping case, Jimmy and Greg uncover a plot to bring forth an ancient evil into the world, and enlist the help of a police detective, a priest, a witch, a fallen angel and strip club proprietor to save the world. This unlikely band of heroes battles zombies, witches, neuroses and sunburn while cracking jokes and looking for the perfect bag of O-negative.

---

Sound fun? They are.  John, being rather prolific, has a good half dozen other novels available in e-book and/or print, including an omnibus of BUBBA the MONSTER HUNTER stories. (Remember what I said about being an unabashed redneck? hehe.)

 And a little more about John:
John G. Hartness is a recovering theatre geek who likes loud music, fried pickles and cold beer. John is an award-winning poet, lighting designer and theatre producer, whose work has been translated into over 25 languages and read worldwide.
John has been called "the Kevin Smith of Charlotte," and fans of Joss Whedon and Jim Butcher should enjoy his snarky slant on the fantasy genre.
He can be found online at www.johnhartness.com and spends too much time on Twitter, especially after a few drinks.
For more information about appearances, signings, and other silliness, feel free to follow John on Twitter (@johnhartness), or on his website www.johnhartness.com.

---

Now it's time for the giveaway! As John writes about snarky vamps, today's question is this: Who is your favorite vampire in fiction and why? Just leave the answer in the comments on the Blogger blog for a chance to win a copy of Hard Day's Knight. I'll announce the winner Tuesday July 3rd during the online release party for GRAVE MEMORY.

And remember, all authors in this series will be at the Fantastical Mystery Tour on Saturday, July 7th from 4-7pm at the Barnes and Noble on Forest Drive in Columbia, SC. I hope you'll come out and see us in person!

Fantastical Mystery Tour: Spotlight on James Tuck

To prepare for the release of GRAVE MEMORY and the upcoming Second Annual Fantastical Mystery Tour, I thought I'd start a series to spotlight the Authors who will be participating in the tour. And of course, I'll give away books during each spotlight. Sound good?

Today I'd like to start the series with a spotlight on James R Tuck, the author of the Deacon Chalk: Occult Bounty Hunter series. I first met James last year at DragonCon before his first book, BLOOD AND BULLETS was released. But Dragon is huge and we didn't have much time to talk. I ran into him again at ConCarolinas, and I have to say, this is one guy you want to hang out with. He is smart and witty and all around fun, so don't let the fact he looks like a scary bouncer intimidate you--he is totally approachable. He is also one of the people who talked me into my last minute decision to join Fandomfest, so if you'll be at the con, make sure you go chat him up.

Okay, enough of my blathering and let's move on to the blurb for James's debut novel, Blood and Bullets:

He lives to kill monsters. He keeps his city safe. And his silver hollow-points and back-from-the-dead abilities help him take out any kind of supernatural threat. But now an immortal evil has this bad-ass bounty hunter dead in its sights. . .


Ever since a monster murdered his family, Deacon Chalk hunts any creature that preys on the innocent. So when a pretty vampire girl "hires" him to eliminate a fellow slayer, Deacon goes to warn him--and barely escapes a vampire ambush. Now he's got a way-inexperienced newbie hunter to protect and everything from bloodsuckers to cursed immortals on his trail. There's also a malevolent force controlling the living and the undead, hellbent on turning Deacon's greatest loss into the one weapon that could destroy him. . .

---

Sound good? I think so! It's definitely on my kindle set to be my next read. (By the way, Blood and Bullets is only 2.99 on kindle right now.) James also has a 'prequel' to the series called THAT THING AT THE ZOO available in ebook, and the sequel, BLOOD AND SILVER that will be out August 7th.

And a little more about James:

James R. Tuck is the author of the Deacon Chalk series from Kensington. He is a former bouncer and a professional tattoo artist in the Atlanta area. He lives just north of there with his lovely wife, two lovely children, and four dogs of varying degrees of lovliness. He writes dark urban fantasy that makes the nerve under your eye twitch.
www.jamesrtuck.com

---

Now on to the giveaway I promised. I'm giving away one copy of Blood and Bullets to a randomly drawn commentor. Simply leave a comment on the Blogger blog (click the link if you are reading this somewhere else) telling me about the last book you read that you'd recommend. I'll draw a winner on Monday to be announced during the online release party of Grave Memory on Tuesday, July 3rd. (Contest open internationally)

T-Shirt Winners

I have cranked up the random number generator and drawn three winners for the T-Shirt contest. Congratulations:
Nicola
Melissa
and
Maria A.

Thank you everyone who entered! And again, congratulations to the winners. If you will write me at Contests (AT) Kalayna (DOT) Com with the t-shirt design you want as well as the desired size, I'll get those in the mail to you.

In other news, please check the blog tomorrow as I will start a series of contests for the books of my fellow Fantastical Mystery Tour authors. Stay tuned!

Happy Monday everyone.

The Second Annual Fantastical Mystery Tour

[If you haven't entered yet, scroll down for a chance to win an Alex Craft or Haven themed t-shirt!]

 You've heard about the Second Annual Fantastical Mystery Tour, right? This massive signing event will feature seven amazing fantasy authors who will give two talks (one geared toward readers and one toward writers),  have a Q&A session, a signing (of course), and will give away several gift baskets. This event also doubles as my official release party for Grave Memory and to celebrate I'll be giving away a NOOK. For one night only, we'll be at the Barnes and Noble on Forest Drive in Columbia, SC from 4-7pm on July 7th. (3400 Forest Drive, Columbia, SC 29204)

This event was tons of fun last year, and I anticipate it to be even better this year. So, I hope you'll mark your calendars and come out to the event. We'd love to see you there! 

Schedule:
4-5pm: Short panel and an open-forum question and answer with the attendees.
5-6:30pm: Book Signing followed by the drawing for door prizes.
6:30-7pm: short panel geared toward writers and those interested in the writing process.

Attending Authors:
Rachel Aaron
Delilah S Dawson
A. J. Hartley
John Hartness
Misty Massey
Kalayna Price
James R Tuck

RSVP: (not necessary, but gives us an idea how many people to expect)
Facebook
Goodreads

Have a great Wednesday everyone!

Fandomfest Schedule

[If you haven't seen it yet, scroll down to check out the current contest for a chance to win an Alex Craft or Haven themed t-shirt!]

June 28-July 1st I'll be in Louisville, Kentucky for Fandomfest. This will be my first time at Fandomfest, so I'm very excited but a little nervous. If you see me looking lost and alone, please come talk to me. (Even if I don't look lost and alone, come talk to me! I love talking to new and old friends alike.)  The panels look great, and I'll be at a table with John Hartness and James Tuck, so I think this will be an awesome conference. I hope I'll see you there. Here is my schedule:

Friday:
4:00pm
Horror Genre Perspectives from Female Writers (Morrow Room)
Join a discussion with a group of female authors as they explore the horror genre from the context of a woman’s perspective!
Panel Features:   Selah Janel (M), Mandi M. Lynch, SH Roddey, Pamela Turner, Kalayna Price

5:30pm
Using Folklore in Fiction (Wilson Room)
Folklore is at the heart of much of today’s speculative fiction, whether the genre is paranormal romance, fantasy, urban fantasy, or many others.  This panel features a discussion on integrating folklore into your fiction, with a few people that know more than a thing or two about the topic!
Panel Features: Sarah Adams, Tally Johnson (M), A Christopher Drown, Marian Allen, Gail Z Martin, Kalayna Price

Saturday:
11:30am
World Building Part I: How to Approach It (Taylor Room)
World building elements are a part of all areas of speculative fiction, not just the genres like Epic Fantasy.  But there are always lots of things to think about when designing a new land or world for a story, and this panel will explore the right ways to approach this task.
Panel Features: Scott Sandridge, Janice Hardy, Thomas Paul Barczack, Tracy Chowdhury, Kirk Stevens (M), Kalayna Price

4:00pm
I Want to Be a Vampire: Why the Paranormal World is So Appealing in Books  (Beckham Room)
Team Jacob, Team Edward in The Forks, True Blood in Bon Temps, Vampire academies and Shifters in the military, Hogwarts and magic and don’t for get those Supernatural brothers. It all seems so realistic in the movies and the books hold out attention and more than a few wish they could be a part of the action. We escape reality in various way but lately many media venues have taken up the paranormal charge. Where do you think this genre is heading? Join a panel of authors who will discuss their paranormal work and ask the questions few readers get to ask.
Panel Features: James Tuck (M), Georgia Jones, Rose Pressey, Angie Fox, Delilah Dawson, Kalayna Price


5:30pm
Exploring Genres: Urban Fantasy (Beckham Room)
Urban Fantasy has evolved and expanded over the years, and our panel will take a look at where it is now, and where it is going.  Strengthened by hit TV series, movies, and the exploding popularity of eBooks, urban fantasy is one of the strongest speculative fiction genres without a doubt!
Panel Features: James Tuck, Kimberly Richardson, Richard Kadrey, Angie Fox Carol Malcolm (M) Rachel Smith, Kalayna Price

Sunday:
1:00pm
The Big 6 and Traditional Press’ Place in Today’s Publishing World: (Beckham Room)
Panel Features James Tuck (M), Kalayna Price, Laura Resnick, Michael Williams, Richard Kadrey

Win an Alex Craft series or Haven series themed shirt!

Some of you who've seen me at conventions recently know that I've started selling Alex Craft and Haven themed t-shirts. I was screen printing them myself for the last year, but I finally farmed the printing out to a company so I can keep up with demand. I now have s-xxl in stock and ready for upcoming conventions as well as for sale on the site. ($20 each - free shipping in the US.)

To celebrate the change, and to get the word out about the upcoming book release, I thought I'd give away a few t-shirts. (Everyone likes free stuff, right?) Are you interested?

Entering is easy. Simply mention GRAVE MEMORY's upcoming release or link to the excerpt on Twitter/ your Blog/Facebook/etc. Then return here and leave a link to the mention in the comments section. Each mention between now and Sunday the 24th at 11:59pm will count as an entry (no more than one entry per each form of social media per day.) I'll draw three winners on Monday. Winners will be able to pick one shirt in whichever design they want. (Open Internationally)

Easy right?

Oh, and here are the shirts! What do you think?

Willing to have
a near Death
experience

FIB
Fae Investigation Bureau

MINION

Ghosts:
Terrible backup
Excellent spies

Don't call me
Kitten

GRAVE MEMORY Excerpt and ARC Winner from Newsletter!

Today I'm very happy to release the first two chapters of Grave Memory. You can find the excerpt HERE. I hope that you enjoy!

Also, it is time to announce the winner of the Grave Memory ARC (contest rules were in June's newsletter). To enter, I asked you to send me the name of Alex's uncle. The correct answer is Nandin, the King of Shadows. I received nearly two hundred correct responses--you guys are awesome. I employed a random number generator, and the winner is:

Karin Anderson

Congratulations! Karin, I'll get the ARC out to you in the next few days. Thank you everyone who entered.

 Have a great Monday everyone, and check back soon, because I'll be releasing a sneak peek of THIRD BLOOD in the next few days!

Remember when I jumped out of a plane?

Remember a couple months ago when I jumped out of a plane? Well, I finally got the video uploaded to share with you. I hope you enjoy!



Happy Wednesday everyone. Oh, and I'll be releasing an excerpt from GRAVE MEMORY in the next few days. Remember, newsletter readers get it first, so if you aren't a member--now is the time to sign up!

Almost Con time

ConCarolinas starts tomorrow (check out the last post for my schedule) and I've spent most of the day preparing. There were shirts to screen print, buttons to press, and outfits to arrange. And of course, that gift basket I mentioned in the last post. Want to see?

Lots of goodies in there, including an ARC of Grave Memory. You have to be present to win, so I hope you'll stop by my table and say hi. I'd love to chat with you!

Okay, time for me to go pack and stuff. I'll see you at the convention!

ConCarolinas Schedule

[If you didn't see yesterday's call for minions, please scroll down to the previous post to learn how to get some free stuff by helping me spread the word with bookmarks!]

June is almost here (time moves faster each year, I swear) which means it is almost time for ConCarolinas!  This is a convention I look forward to each year because I always see so many friends. The Magical Words crew will be having our yearly reader lunch on Saturday, which is always a highlight of the weekend. I think last year we had sixty-four people turn out for the event--it was amazing. The line up of panels this year is once again exciting, and I'll have a table where I'll be signing books, giving out free stuff, and of course have books for sale. I'll also have a giveaway basket that will include an ARC of Grave Memory--I haven't decided how I'll give out tickets yet, but you have to be present to win, so I hope I'll see you there!

Here is my panel schedule.


Friday 04:00 pm to 05:00 pm

Event Title: You Had Me at Hello

Location: Lakeshore II - Programming 2



Friday 06:00 pm to 07:00 pm

Event Title: When Fairy Tales Were Scary Tales

Location: Lakeshore II - Programming 2



Friday 08:00 pm to 09:00 pm

Event Title: Bad Boys, Bad Boys

Location: Lakeshore II - Programming 2



Saturday 10:00 am to 11:00 am

Event Title: I Believe in Magic

Location: Lakeshore II - Programming 2



Saturday 06:00 pm to 07:00 pm

Event Title: Urban Fantasy

Location: Lakeshore II - Programming 2



Sunday 10:00 am to 11:00 am

Event Title: e-Books

Location: Keynes - Programming 5



Sunday 12:00 pm to 01:00 pm

Event Title: Marketing Yourself & Your Work

Location: Lakeshore II - Programming 2

Call for Minions: Bookmark Project for Grave Memory release!

Today I'm calling all minions (aka volunteers for a street team) to see if anyone would be interested in helping me spread the word by taking bookmarks to their local bookstores!

 What I'm proposing is that if you're interested in helping me get the word out about the books (and helping some bookmarks find good homes) send an email to kalayna(AT)kalayna(dot)com with the words "BOOKMARK PROJECT" in the subject line and include your name, shipping address, and the name of the bookstore you plan to take the bookmarks to. I will  send you 20-30 bookmarks that you can take to the bookstore and either ask the manager to put on the checkout desk for customers to claim, or you can take the bookmarks back to the fantasy section and place them inside other urban fantasy titles so that the reader who buys that book will have a free bookmark and learn about my series.

Of course, I wouldn't ask you to help without giving you something in return. Along with the bookmarks, I'll send you a personalized and signed bookplate for Grave Memory (or any of the books you'd like to put it in.) Also, if you haven't already received a minion button and would like one, just let me know in your email and I'll be sure to put that in the package as well! 

Anyone interested?

Edited To Add: Sorry to my international readers. I'll try to do something special for you guys soon, but this particular project is for the US only. The bookmarks have only the US information on them.

GRAVE MEMORY ARC WINNERS

Wow, you guys are awesome. Between the Goodreads blog and the blogger blog there were over 100 reviews entered. Thank you everyone who reviewed one of my books and entered the contest! I wish I could give you all copies. Unfortunately, I only have the two ARCs. So, on to what you are all waiting for.

I cranked up the random number generator and it picked two reviews. Congratulations:

-Eileen with your review at: http://speakcoffeetome.blogspot.com/2012/04/grave-witch.html
and
-proud_farmgirl with your review at: Amazon (it was a really long link)

Please send me an email at CONTESTS (AT) KALAYNA (DOT) COM with who you would like me to sign the book to and shipping information.  I'll get the ARCs in the mail asap.

Thank you again everyone who entered and please check back tomorrow: I'll be putting out a call for minions to help me spread the word with free bookmarks! (And, of course, everyone who volunteers will get free stuff.)

Happy Monday everyone!

[ETA sorry this is going up so late--I wondered why no one was commenting. I hit save instead of publish. **headdesk**]

GRAVE MEMORY: A Contest!

Hey all. I promised I had big news and I do. I received my ARCs (Advanced Reading Copies**) of Grave Memory and I want to give them away to YOU. Of course, I have only two copies and there are likely a lot of you who are interested, so I've devised an easy contest.

To enter simply write a review on any book in my backlist and post it to the review site of your choice. (Goodreads, Shelfari, Amazon, B&N, etc) Once you've published the review, drop a link to it in the comments section of this blog. The more books you review and the more places you post your reviews, the more entries you receive. Easy enough?

The contest is open internationally and will run from now until Sunday, May 20th at 11:59 EST. If you'd like to be one of the first to read Grave Memory, I hope you'll help me spread the word with a review and enter to win an ARC.

Best of Luck!

**ARCs are printed before final edits so expect minor differences between the ARC and the book that hits shelves in July. ^_^

Twice Dead German Cover

I just saw the German cover for Twice Dead and it is gorgeous! Check it out:

What do you think?

Oh, and I have special news coming very soon, so check back on Monday!

Remember to backup your work--An almost horror story.

I've become spoiled using the writing program Scrivener and online backup storage space on Dropbox. Scrivener saves my work constantly, and as I have it saving to external storage, I rarely have to worry about losing my work.  But in the late stages of a book, for instance during copyedits (which I'm currently finishing for GRAVE MEMORY right now) I can no longer use scrivener and must switch over to Word as that is what my publisher uses.

But I'm not accustomed to Word anymore. I forget little things like that I need to tell the program to save. I tend to spend hours working before my brain goes "Oh, this doesn't auto-save, I should probably save." This typically isn't a problem.

Unless something goes wrong. Like it did last night.

My MacBook Air has a problem. I've known this for a while. It occasionally goes rather nuts. The problem isn't reproduceable, it can't be found on a diagnostic test, and it doesn't happen often, so for the last few months, I haven't been willing to give up use of the laptop to get it fix. This hasn't been that big of an issue because, like I said, I usually work in Scrivener which automatically saves to an offsite storage site which I can access from any of my computers. Plus the problem it is very rare and sporadic. The problem (which makes the computer non-responsive until forcefully restarted) has only occurred four or five time in three months (which might sound like a lot, but isn't when you think about he fact I often spend 12-18 hours a day working on the laptop.) So I didn't even think about the problem or its possibility of striking unexpected.

Which almost ruined yesterday.

Six hours into copyediting (and not a single save because I'm so out of the habit) the laptop turned FUBAR. Okay, deep breaths. Surely I didn't lose everything. Word has auto-recovery, right?

Except when I restarted the laptop and opened Word it didn't give me the option to open a recovered file. Now I was ready to freak out.

Thankfully, the Head Minion found where Word had dumped a temp auto-saved file and I was able to recover those six hours of work, but I learned my lesson--I don't save enough. And I doubt that's going to change. I just don't use the program often enough. But Word does have some options that aren't automatically turned on. An important one being an option that automatically creates a backup of any open document. I now have that option selected on my laptop (and plans to sacrifice some time with my laptop so I can get the problem fixed). I've also increased the frequency of Word's autosave.

So that is my almost horror story, and my reminder to everyone to backup your work. Now to finish these copyedits so I can get back to my Work-In-Progress on Scrivener. ^_^

Have a great Monday everyone!

Mysticon is this weekend! (and a plea for suggestions)

This weekend I will be Roanoke, VA for MystiCon. Here is a quick look at my schedule for the event:

Fri	8:00 PM	Boardroom 1	How To Be a Dark Hunter	Determined to vanquish evil in the night. Join Sherrilyn and our other panelists as they discuss how you too can be a dark hunter and protect humanity from things that go bump in the night.
Sat	10:00 AM	Dogwood 2	Sympathy for The Devil - Liking the Bad Guy	We all love to hate the bad guy. The best villains keep fans yearning for more. What makes them so intriguing and how do you write the villain without him/her becoming a caricature.
Sat	1:00 PM	Signing Table	Kalanya Price Signing
Sat	6:00 PM	Restaurant	Koffee Klatch	Readings by several of our authors.
Sat	8:00 PM	Boardroom 1	Where's the Line? Handling Potentially Offensive Topics in Your Work	How do you decide how far to go with humor, language, violence, sex and other situations? Do creators have a responsibility to police themselves, or does anything go?
Sat	9:00 PM	Boardroom 1	When True Crime Meets the Occult	What happens when the savvy police investigator meets a zombie? How much do paranormal PIs share in common with crime and forensic novels? Join authors from both sides as they discuss the similarities and differences.

Now you see that first panel I'm on? The "How to be a Dark Hunter" one? I  found out today that I'm moderating that panel. I don't moderate often and don't think I'm particularly good at it because it means I have to interpret the description and lead the discussion. And this one? That's a a doozy. What is a writing panel with four authors on it about when the description is: "Determined  to vanquish evil in the night. Join Sherrilyn and our other panelists  as they discuss how you too can be a dark hunter and protect humanity  from things that go bump in the night." 


What do you think? Does that make it a "how to write a dark hero/heroine" panel? Something else entirely? What would you expect if you showed up to the panel? What kind of topics would you want the writers to discuss? I need to walk into that room with a couple questions and topics so we don't end up all staring at each other. LOL.

So what would you ask? Where would you take the panel? (By the way, the panelists are Sherrilyn Kenyon, Alethea Kontis, Faith Hunter, and well, me of course. ^_^)

Okay, that gets the panicked plea for suggestions out of the way. (You did know authors are nervous up there at the front of the room, right?) Now back to the Con as a whole. So who is going? I hope to see you there!

Reminder about Event Tonight!

Just a reminder that tonight NYT bestselling author Faith Hunter and I will be at Barnes and Noble on Forest Dr tonight from six until eight pm tonight. We'll have a short talk and Q&A session followed by a signing. I hope that you'll join us. We'd love to see you!

Grave Memory cover copy and other news

Today I'm very happy to share with you the back cover copy for GRAVE MEMORY. So now all of those who have been asking me what the book is about, I can now tell you!

When the dead need to talk, Alex Craft is always ready to listen…

As a Grave Witch, Alex solves murders by raising the dead—an ability that comes at a cost, and after her last few cases, that cost is compounding. But her magic isn’t the only thing causing havoc in her life. While she’s always been on friendly terms with Death himself, things have recently become a whole lot more close and personal. Then there’s her sometime partner, agent Falin Andrews, who is under the glamour of the Winter Queen. To top everything off, her best friend has been forever changed by her time spent captive in Faerie.

But the personal takes a backseat to the professional when a mysterious suicide occurs in Nekros City and Alex is hired to investigate. The shade she raises has no memory of the days leading up to his brutal ending, so despite the very public apparent suicide, this is murder. But what kind of magic can overcome the human will to survive? And why does the shade lack the memory of his death? Searching for the answer might mean Alex won’t have a life to remember at all…

And, speaking of Grave Memory, I've now created a countdown widget. You can see it at the top of the right column if you are reading this in blogger. But just in case you are reading this elsewhere, here is the countdown:







Please feel free to take it and re-post it where ever you see fit!


In other news, I sent February's newsletter off today and somehow a glitch occurred and several subscribers reported missing images. I'm so sorry about that. You can find a copy of the newsletter (with images) HERE.

Okay, that's it for me today. Happy Wednesday everyone!

Winners!

Thank you everyone who helped me get the word out about the UK release of GRAVE DANCE! The random number generator has spoken, and we have winners.

Congratulations to: Melliane and jbon! If you will write me with your shipping information and who you'd like your book signed to at Contests (AT) Kalayna (DOT) com I will send you your book and handmade bookmark.

To those who didn't win, I'd still love to thank you for helping me get the word out by sending you something. How does bookmarks (sorry, not handmade) and a signed bookplate sound? If you're interested, send me an email at Kalayna (at) Kalayna (dot) com  with the subject line Get the word out! Be sure to include your shipping information and who you'd like the bookplate made out to and I'll get them in the mail.

Thank you again everyone who helped get the word out!
Have a great Monday.

GRAVE DANCE goes overseas! And a contest!

Hello United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand! Did  you know that GRAVE DANCE hits your shores (and e-readers) today? It's true! 

In Alex's second adventure, something foul is afoot in Nekros City, but as Alex begins investigating the murder case, it quickly becomes apparent that the only thing someone wants her to find is a dead end--her own. 
To read an excerpt click HERE.  (Note, excerpt contains spoilers from book one. If you haven't checked out GRAVE WITCH yet, you can read and excerpt HERE)

As the official release day for the UK version of GRAVE DANCE, the second Alex Craft novel,  I think it's a good time to do a "get the word out" contest: UK version.

Entering is easy. Simply tweet, blog, google+, facebook--whatever social media you like--the news about the release and include a link back to this blog post, to the excerpt (HERE) or a site selling the book (Amazon UK HERE, iBooks HERE, Book Depository HERE,  or anywhere else books are sold) Once you share the news, just stop back by the blog and share a link to where you helped get the word out. Each place you share the news will get your one entry into the contest.

Of course, it wouldn't a contest without a prize. So what am I giving away? Two signed copies of the UK version of the first book, GRAVE WITCH each with a ribbon bookmark handmade by me! The two winners will be drawn using a random number generator, so the more places you share the news, the higher your chance of winning!

The contest will close Sunday at 11:59 pm EST and I'll announce winners on Monday February 5th. This contest is open internationally (obviously). So please help me get the word out about the Grave Dance's release!

GRAVE MEMORY Covers (US & UK)

Today I'm very happy to unveil the cover for the third Alex Craft novel, GRAVE MEMORY, which will be hitting shelves this July. And not only do I have US cover, but I also have the UK cover. I believe the books should be hitting shelves simultaneously, so this is super exciting.

Okay, enough chatter. You want the covers, right?

 

Above is the US cover (The title will be printed with gold embossing) 

And this is the UK cover

So, what do you think? I love them. Of course, blue is my favorite color, so I'm probably biased. ^_^

Pictures and such

This is a fly by posting. I just wanted to post some pictures I found rather exciting:

Image ©Adonna Pruette w/Author Pro

First up, from this weekend here is a picture of Faith and me signing books at the Raven Cursed release party (Which was tons of fun. Thank you everyone who came out!) In front of me, you can see PC in his first public appearance.

Next, another image from the signing--my name on the sign! This is a first for me. I've been in program books and on posters, but never on a sign. So this moment is now memorialized. ^_^ (yes, I'm very easily excited.)

And lastly for this post, some pretties. (This picture doesn't do them justice.) On the left you can see the UK version of Grave Dance which will be released February 2nd and on the right a copy of the German edition of Once Bitten. There is absolutely nothing like holding a book in your hands for the first time.




Okay, that's it for me. Back to writing!
Happy Monday everyone.

Want a signed book?

Two bits of news today--both dealing with signed books.

First up, I want to remind everyone that this Saturday (1/07)  I'll be at the Booknack in Rockhill, SC from 5-7pm as part of the release party for the newest Jane Yellowrock novel, Raven Cursed, by NYT best selling author Faith Hunter. I love Faith's books, and I'm thrilled to have been invited to join her release party, so I hope you'll stop by. We'd both love to see you!

I know some of you aren't in the South East (where most of the events and conventions I attend are located). Which leads me to my second bit of news: I talked to Mike (the very awesome guy at the Booknack) and if you'd like me to sign a book made out to you, the Alex Craft novels can be ordered before the event and I'll sign and personalize it for you while I'm at the store Saturday and the Booknack will ship the signed book(s) to you.

Yes, you read that correctly. You can get a signed and personalized book without driving halfway across the country. ^_^

To order a book, call the Booknack at 803-327-9028. (Their hours are 10am - 8pm EST Monday - Saturday and 2-6pm on Sunday.) They will be accepting payment via credit card only. The cost will be the book's the cover price ($7.99 per book) plus shipping, which will be $3.99 for one book or $5.99 two. If you'd like the book personalized, make sure you order before the signing this Saturday. Mike is also allowing me to sign stock, so if you order after Saturday you can probably still get a signed book--it just won't be personalized. 

We don't have any indie bookstores left in my area, so I'm thrilled to be working with Mike and the Booknack to offer you this opportunity to acquire signed books.

I hope to see you at the signing on Saturday (or to sign a book or two for you)! Happy hump day everyone.