Kalayna Price

Sorry for the long silence everyone. I hope to have an update for you soon. In the mean time, I wrote a short story that is set in the Alex Craft world and will be hitting shelves tomorrow in the anthology  KICKING IT.  My story in KICKING IT is called RUBY RED and follows Briar Darque on a case. It doesn't relate directly to Alex's tale, but timeline-wise, it falls between Grave Dance and Grave Memory. This anthology is packed full of great stories from authors I'm sure you know well, including Rachel Caine, Chloe Neill, and Faith Hunter. I'm super thrilled to have been involved with the project and I hope that you'll check it out. It will hit stores everywhere tomorrow,  December 3rd. Enjoy!

As you probably know, I have severally cut back my traveling and appearance schedules this year.  While the decision was necessary, I have missed having the opportunity to chat with many of you.  The good news is, I will get to chat and hang out this weekend at ConCarolinas . Below is my schedule for the weekend. I hope to see you there! Fri 04:00 pm Writer's Reception Lakeshore Ballroom I & II - Main Programming Fri 09:00 pm Writing the Other Harris - Programming 9 Sat 04:00 pm The Villain as Protagonist Harris - Programming 9 Sat 10:00 pm Bloodsucking Fiends Olmstead - Programming 8 Sat 11:30 pm Making Monsters Scary Again Olmstead - Programming 8

Before I start this post, let me say that you guys are absolutely wonderful. I love meeting you at cons and signings, and even though I'm ridiculously (to the point of embarrassment) behind on my email, I love hearing from you. The fact that people want to read stories that initially exist only in my head still amazes me. You are all awesome and I cherish each and every one of my readers. So then why have I been so quiet recently? The blog has been barren, twitter and facebook have been neglected, and my website is in woeful need of an update. Well, the answer is rather complicated and very personal. Writing is something I love to do, but it is also my job. I've always tried to maintain a clear line between my job and my private life, and to ensure that whatever is going on in my personal life doesn't interfere with my job. That's what professionals do, right? There are deadlines to meet and events to attend and business to be conducted.  Recently preventing the...

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 B eautiful 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, r...

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 Fan...

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. I...

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!

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!

[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 al...

[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 ...

[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 sta...

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...

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.

[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 fo...

[If you haven't seen it yet, scroll down to check out the current contes t 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 grea t, 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 Roo...

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 sh...

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 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!

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!

[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...