Gratitude Giveaway and Year's End Summary

Well...this has been a year, hasn't it? Lots of good things, and lots of bad, alas. But in the end, I am still so grateful for all I have. And especially grateful for YOU, my friends, readers, and fans. So I'm doing one last giveaway this year for no reason other than to say thank you for taking this journey with me. Thank you for buying my books, and for putting up reviews (really, THANK YOU), and for generally spreading the word and being supportive. Y'all make the hard work worth it. So I'm doing this:

Carried away? Moi? Never.

So, here's this year in review--briefly, because otherwise we'll be here all day.
Good stuff:
Well, I had two books out, which is great. WICKEDLY POWERFUL was the third Baba Yaga novel, which was then followed by DANGEROUSLY CHARMING the first Rider novel.

BOOKS!

Got to go visit my friends in Connecticut, got visits from pal Bethany and her charming hubby Jarrod, and my stepdaughter Jenn, and FINALLY met long-time author pal Alex Bledsoe in person at Robercon (where I also got to hang out with the fabulous Tamora Pierce, which is always a joy).

Terry and Glenn in Connecticut

Jarrod, Bethany, and me

My kid and her two moms (no, not THAT kind of two moms)

Alex, me, and the fab Tammy

Plus, of course, the tarot deck is coming out any minute, so that might end up counting toward this year too.

Mind you, there was a lot of not great stuff too. I lost Mystic and Magic's mother Minerva in March (wow, that's a lot of M's). Had to rehome little Luna, because she couldn't adjust to the other cats (although she IS blissfully happy at her new house and I get to visit often). Angus was sick for months with an eye infection, then Mystic got seriously ill and almost died. (They both got better. That definitely counts toward the "good" column.) I seriously hurt my knee on the first of April, and it is still taking it's slow time recovering, and then I got shingles (which are brought on by stress, so I blame the election, plus all that other stuff...). Plus, you know, life.

Overall, I'd have to say it was a pretty tough year, where the not-so-great stuff often overwhelmed the great. But I survived and have hopes that next year will be better. And in the meanwhile, I still have a lot to be grateful for, including all of you. So thanks! And now, I'm going to do one last giveaway for the year, just because I can. Maybe it will finish off a few other people's years right.

Here's what we've got! A Fire tablet, a set of ALL FOUR BOOKS (signed, of course), winner's choice of one of three book cover notebooks, and a Deborah Blake calendar for 2017 plus a broom pen to write in it with. Four prizes, four winners. Woot!

No, Magic the Cat doesn't come with the prizes.

Winner gets his or her pick!

No, Angus doesn't come with the prize either. But his picture is in the calendar.

As always, all you have to do to enter is fill out the Rafflecopter form below. You get credit for anything you've already done, like following the blog, or signing up for my newsletter. And because it is my big end-of-year giveaway, I'm opening it up internationally. There is no purchase required, although of course, if you want to give ME a year's end present and buy one of my books, or put up a review for one you read, I won't tell you not to!

Good luck, thanks for everything, and happy holidays, whichever one you happen to celebrate.

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Robercon Ho!

I'm working my butt off this weekend, trying to get as much done as I can on the 365 Day book for Llewellyn, because next weekend, I'm going to be at ROBERCON! I'm so excited!

Robercon is my "local" SF/fantasy convention, located in Binghamton, New York, about an hour from where I live. I have gone for the last few years and always had a blast.

Look at all the cool people who attend!

 The convention has both general SF/fantasy panels, cosplay, and the like, plus a bunch of guest authors, including yours truly. Last year, the amazing Tamora Pierce was the author guest of honor, and we had so much fun hanging out together, she is actually coming back this year. I can't wait!

Me and the fabulous Tamora.

 But the REAL reason I am so, so, so excited this year is that my friend Alex Bledsoe is flying in to be the author guest of honor. Alex and I have been friends for years, supporting each other's careers and cheering each other on, but this will be the first time we will actually get to meet in person!

Handsome devil!

Plus, of course, there is the convention guest of honor, Chase Masterson, who had a reoccurring role on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. This year is going to ROCK.

As an added bonus, for the folks who make it there, my publisher has kindly arranged for me to have my author copies of DANGEROUSLY CHARMING in time to take them to the con, even though the book isn't officially out until October 4th. So a few lucky people are going to get their hands on the book a week and a half before everyone else! Whoo hoo!

I hope I get to see a few of you there. Here's the schedule of events for those who are thinking of coming: Robercon Schedule I will be at both author signings (Saturday and Sunday). I will undoubtedly have a few goodies with me too.

Whoo hooo!

Alex Bledsoe on Writing a Female Villain

A note from Deborah: I had so much fun doing a blog swap with my author pal Jim C. Hines a couple of weeks ago, I decided to do it again with long-time buddy Alex Bledsoe, the author of the Tufa  novels, plus a bunch of other great series. He wrote up something to post here on his thoughts about writing a female villain (which he did INCREDIBLY well in his latest book, LONG BLACK CURL...man, I hated that woman!). I'm over on his blog talking about writing novellas and novels for the same series--mine, that is. I'm giving away a copy of WICKEDLY POWERFUL over at his blog to one lucky commenter, and he is giving away a copy of his book here.

My post for Alex can be found HERE

ON WRITING A FEMALE VILLAIN

by Alex Bledsoe

Coming up with a villain is never easy.  Your villain is the measure against which your hero* must stand, so you never want to have a weak one.  More, the best villains believe that, from their perspective, they are the heroes. 

The antagonist’s gender can present issues as well.  I’m a firm lover of film noir and classic detective fiction, where the femme fatale occupies pride of place among villains. Brigid O’Shaughnessy very nearly outsmarts Sam Spade in THE MALTESE FALCON, and Irene Adler does outsmart Sherlock Holmes.  Even Disney presents an array of wicked queens, stepmothers and witches, and at least one femme fatale (Jessica Rabbit).

When I was writing LONG BLACK CURL, my most recent Tufa novel, I knew I needed a new villain.  The one from the preceding book, WISP OF A THING, had lost both his power and prestige in the community, and I thought that restoring it would be a cheat.  So I came up with Bo-Kate Wisby, one of the only Tufa to ever be permanently exiled, and her plan for revenge.

The Tufa novels are not action-adventures, so Bo-Kate didn’t have to be the toughest character.  Nor did she necessarily have to be the smartest.  But she is without a doubt the most devious, and has one skill that makes her especially dangerous: the ability to pick out an opponent’s weaknesses.  She knows where to poke the knife, both literal and metaphorical.

I also wanted Bo-Kate’s reasons for her villainous behavior to be both clear and sympathetic, like Annie Wilkes in MISERY.  Bo-Kate believes she’s fully justified in what she’s doing, even when it costs innocent lives.  What was done to her was so horrific that any act of retribution is justified.

She’s also sexy, as a femme fatale should be.  Not all female villains are—Dolores Umbridge, for example, is about as sexy as a wet sock, but she’s villainous through and through, as is Nurse Ratched from ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST.  Bo-Kate is much more in the tradition of Lena Olin in the delirious ROMEO IS BLEEDING, willing to do anything—anything—to see her plot to completion.

In a lot of popular culture, there’s been the trope that a female villain must only face a female hero: think Faye Dunaway vs. Helen Slater in SUPERGIRL, or Halle Berry vs. Sharon Stone in CATWOMAN, to use two atrocious examples.  Both parts of KILL BILL were essentially nothing but girl-on-girl violence.  The idea seems to be that male heroes are simply too tough for a female villain to overcome, but that’s clearly not true: again, see the history of femme fatales.

It was fun writing Bo-Kate, but by the end, I sympathized with her, too.  I think that’s the sign of a good villain, and I can only hope that readers of LONG BLACK CURL share that sympathy by the final page.  If they do, then I’ve done my job.

*”hero” and “villain,” unless otherwise specified, are genderless terms.

website: http://alexbledsoe.com

facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alex.bledsoe

twitter: https://twitter.com/AlexBledsoe

Tell Alex and me who your favorite female villain is, or what traits you would love to see in one that you haven't seen before. (Or just say hi.) We'll pick a random commenter in a week, on Wednesday the 24th.

Book Giveaway and News About a Short Story

As many of you know, I have a novel coming out in mid-November called VEILED MAGIC. This one's not part of the Baba Yaga series, although it does feature a completely different kind of witch... Veiled Magic is coming out as an eBook only for now, to tide y'all over until WICKEDLY POWERFUL comes out in February.  In fact, Veiled Magic has a very special place in my heart, because it was the book that finally got me my wonderful agent, Elaine Spencer.

What you may NOT know is that the idea for Veiled Magic came from a short story I wrote for The Pagan Anthology of Short Fiction, which came out back in 2008 as a combined effort from Llewellyn and BBI Media (which puts out the Witches & Pagans Magazine, where I now have a regular column, although back then they didn't know me from Adam). Sadly, the book didn't do as well as they'd hoped, and is now out of print. But I happen to have a couple of copies stashed away, and I thought that it would be great to give one away so that one lucky winner would be able to read the short story that started it all. [There are also some very cool stories from my friends Alex Bledsoe and C.S.MacCath, both of whom I met through that project.]

In truth, Veiled Magic would never have been written at all, if so many people hadn't read my short story, Dead and (Mostly) Gone and said, "Hey! You should write a book about that character!" I still love that title (grin). Thankfully, I have the rights to the story, so I will be putting it up online soon at a whopping .99 cents in case anyone else wants to read it. But for now, I'll be giving away a copy of the anthology, plus a couple of little extras. (The cat stays, I'm afraid.)

The book, a broom pen, and a cool postcard.

A rare copy of The Pagan Anthology of Short Fiction

 As always, it is easy to enter by using the Rafflecopter form below. This giveaway is open to everyone. No purchase is necessary (although if you want to preorder the book, I will certainly allow it). Good luck!

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Book Giveaway: Long Black Curl

As most of you probably already know (unless you're really new to the blog), I read A LOT. I also have a lot of friends who are authors. As you can imagine, this works out pretty well. Except for my budget and my overflowing shelves...

Like most folks, I have some authors who are "must buys." Any time they put out a book, I get it automatically. Sometimes even in (gasp) hardcover, if I can't wait the extra time for it to come out in paperback. Not all of these authors are friends, of course, although many of them are people I have stalked followed online long enough that they at least know who I am. (Snort.)

Here is a pile of what I've read in the last couple of months (not counting the books I read on the Kindle at night before bed, when my eyes are tired). Luna clearly had her favorite. When I got the book I put it down on the couch next to me and when I turned around, this is what I saw. Isn't that adorable?

Long Black Curl with a short tortie cat

Large pile of books with a curious yellow cat

You can see from the pile of books that I read a fairly eclectic selection. The bottom two are British contemporary romances, then there is one by an American author (I'm very picky about which contemporaries I read, but I do have a few favorite authors). Then there are a couple of my "must buy" folks who write fantasy/urban fantasy/paranormal romance: Maria V. Snyder, Devon Monk, and Lisa Shearin. Plus a new-to-me author I discovered at Rober-Con last year, Laura Anne Gilman. I'm currently binge reading her Paranormal investigations series.

If a book is in this pile, you can safely assume I am recommending it wildly.

And then there is Alex Bledsoe, whose book, LONG BLACK CURL, Luna is so enamored with. Alex and I go way back--we both had stories in The Pagan Anthology of Short Fiction--and although we haven't yet gotten to meet in person due to distance (he lives in Wisconsin, I live in upstate NY), we truly are friends. In fact, if you have a copy of WICKEDLY DANGEROUS, his name will probably look familiar to you. That's because he wrote one of blurbs on the back. (He called it "Paranormal romance at it's best"!)

Alex has a couple of fabulous series out. LONG BLACK CURL is the third in his "Tufa" novels. Here's the summary:

Long Black Curl: a brand-new tale in Alex Bledsoe's acclaimed urban fantasy series, where magic is hidden in plain sight and age-old rivalries simmer just beneath the surface

In all the time the Tufa have existed, only two have ever been exiled: Bo-Kate Wisby and her lover, Jefferson Powell. They were cast out, stripped of their ability to make music, and cursed to never be able to find their way back to Needsville. Their crime? A love that crossed the boundary of the two Tufa tribes, resulting in the death of several people.

Somehow, Bo-Kate has found her way back. She intends to take over both tribes, which means eliminating both Rockhouse Hicks and Mandalay Harris. Bo-Kate has a secret weapon: Byron Harley, a rockabilly singer known as the "Hillbilly Hercules" for his immense size and strength, and who has passed the last sixty years trapped in a bubble of faery time. He's ready to take revenge on any Tufa he finds.

The only one who can stop Bo-Kate is Jefferson Powell. Released from the curse and summoned back to Cloud County, even he isn't sure what will happen when they finally meet. Will he fall in love with her again? Will he join her in her quest to unite the Tufa under her rule? Or will he have to sacrifice himself to save the people who once banished him?

As always, Alex is going to send me my very own signed copy. (Woot!) But I couldn't wait to read it, so I bought one for myself...which I am now going to give away to one lucky reader! [Because it is a hardcover, and therefore heavy, I'm afraid I'm going to have to restrict this giveaway to USA only. Sorry foreign peeps.] I loved this book beyond measure. Alex is one of the best writers I know, which is really saying something. The Tufa are a fascinating mixture of fairy lore and Southern rural life, all wrapped up in magic and music. You WANT to read this series.

To enter, you can follow Alex on Twitter and/or leave a comment here. Tell me if you have a favorite author or authors, or if you have read any of Alex's books. This is a short one, so don't wait to enter.

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ALS Icebucket Challenge August 2014

Alex Bledsoe challenged me to do the ALS Icebucket Challenge. I said no, of course. And yet, here I am, doing it anyway. Of course, things didn't turn out quite the way I expected...

A Few Cool Things

It is snowing again here, and although it was 30 overnight, then temps are now heading back down into the basement--it is expected to drop to the teens during the day, then back to the negative single digits overnight..for the next few days.

All of which has brought on a migraine (on a day when I planned to Get a Lot of Writing Done, dammit!), so I'm just going to post a couple of cool things to amuse you and then run away again.

Cool Thing the One:
To celebrate the upcoming release of the Baba Yaga books (September and December, if all goes well with Berkley), I found myself this REALLY COOL shirt on Etsy.
Baba Yaga Tee Shirt

 I'm not a big tee shirt person, especially because I only like them if they have V-necks or scoop necks (not the normal crew neck, which is much easier to find). So you can imagine how excited I was to find this one that had a picture of the Baba Yaga's traditional cabin on chicken legs.

In case you're wondering, the writing says "Turn your back to the forest, your front to me." That is the magical phrase that you were supposed to say to get Baba Yaga's hut to turn around and show you the front door. (And no, I don't read Russian...I asked the shirt's creator.)

I've been thinking I might give away one of these when I get closer to the book release. What do you think? Is that something anyone might like? They're cotton, and very comfy...

Cool Thing the Two:
I just finished reading my pal Alex Bledsoe's newest book in the Eddie LaCrosse sword jockey series. He Drank, and Saw the Spider is the fifth book in the series, and they just keep getting better and better. In fact, when I started reading, I intended to make a note of some of the best lines, and email Alex to tell him how great they were. By the time I hit about the 10th one, at only chapter two, I gave up. Yes, the book really IS that good. (Minerva didn't want to give it up so I could read it, as you can see. She is a cat of discerning taste.)

Cool Thing the Three:
I spent the last week putting together all my numbers for my accountant, so she could do my taxes. (Gah. No, that is NOT the cool thing.) For the first time ever, my combined jewelry and writing income actually exceeded my "Day Job" income. Mind you, that's before taxes, since once the government gets their huge Self-Employment chunk, it will be a lot less. And I'm going to have to pay out a large amount in taxes, which isn't going to be fun. And to be honest, some of that is a reflection of the not-so-large size of my salary for running a not-for-profit shop and not working full time. But still, as a concept, it is kind of cool. You have to take your wins where you can find them.

That's all I got, folks. Tell me something cool that's happening in your life, okay?

With a Little Help from my Friends: Writers Helping Writers

I've been in the writing biz for about 8 years, give or take. I started out in 2005 by sending out a proposal and 1st three chapters of a book on witchcraft to Llewellyn Worldwide and arrived, as of last Friday, in the fiction publishing world by getting a two book contract from Berkley for my modern fairy tale, THE BABA YAGA.

Finally. Whew. And yay!

But along the way, a remarkable thing happened. You see, I didn't make this journey by myself. I'm not sure I could have made it by myself. Certainly it wouldn't have been as rewarding or as fun.

At the time I wrote that first book, Circle, Coven & Grove, I knew a few folks who wrote, none of whom had been published (except my father, who has three nonfiction books about his specialty). My mother, a gifted writer in her own right and the best line editor I've ever met, read the manuscript before I sent it out, which resulted in a polished book (with a lot fewer commas) that needed virtually no in-house editing from Llewellyn at all.

Which was great, but I decided that if I was going to seriously try to have a writing career (and I was--that first book not only got me hooked on being published, it proved that I could actually FINISH A DAMNED BOOK, in which case I had no excuses not to work on a novel), I needed to figure out how the business worked.

So I set out to do some research, and also to purposely stalk follow authors online who I liked and admired. I thought I might learn something from them, and also perhaps make a few connections that would be useful.

Smartest thing I ever did in my life.

Not just because many authors talk on their blogs (and Facebook and Twitter) about the writing biz, although that is certainly part of it. I learned more about agents, editors, the craft of writing, and the joys and pitfalls of the publishing world than I could ever have dreamed to. And won a few free books along the way :-)

But mostly because I made some of the best friends a writer could hope to have. It turns out that the Biz is full of smart, funny, warm, generous people--many of whom take time and energy they really can't spare from their own writing to mentor those who are following in their footsteps.

During the long 8 year slog from "I think I'll write a novel" to "OMG I got a book deal!," sometimes the only thing that kept me from giving up was the encouragement and support from these fabulous authors (and a few fabulous agents who didn't sign me, but stayed in my corner nonetheless). They gave me pointers, hooked me up with useful people, and sometimes just repeated over and over, "SOMEDAY IT WILL HAPPEN. HANG IN THERE. YOU CAN DO IT."

I could write out a whole list of names of people you should stalk follow if you are an aspiring author, but here are a few of the folks who helped me the most, and who are always generous and smart and kind when dealing with those who are following in their footsteps. If you're going to stalk follow anyone (and support them by buying their books, of course), you want to include Candace Havens (who has practically made a career out of helping other writers), Jim C. Hines, Lucienne Diver, Alex Bledsoe, Annette Blair, C. E. Murphy, Jennifer Crusie, Lani Diane Rich (whose Story Wonk podcast is an education in itself), and Heather Long.

These folks are just the tip of the iceberg, of course. I suggest starting with the authors you like and admire, and who write the kind of books you want to write. People who don't hesitate to share their experiences and their advice. You can learn a lot from a writer. But even better, writers make the best cheering section in the world.

And sometimes, if you're as lucky as I am, the very best friends.

For the aspiring authors, I have this message :SOMEDAY IT WILL HAPPEN. HANG IN THERE. YOU CAN DO IT.

Recommended Reading: The Firefly Witch

As most of you know, I have a particular fondness for stories about witches (good ones, usually, as opposed to the typical evil witch). If fact, many of my own novels feature witch characters of one sort or another. If you liked my book Witch Ever Way You Can and its follow-up short story Witch Upon a Star then you're going to love this collection of short stories about one of my favorite witch characters, the Firefly Witch.

If you've been around here for a while, then you've probably heard me talk about my author pal Alex Bledsoe, author of multitudinous grand and fabulous novels, including my favorites, the Eddie LaCrosse series. But what you may not know is that when he was starting out, Alex wrote a number of short stories about a character called the Firefly Witch, most of them published in the BBI Media magazine that predated the Witches & Pagans Magazine I write for today.

Luckily for those of us who missed them the first time around, Alex has put some of these stories out in eBook anthologies. Check it out:

Don't you love that cover? This is the first anthology, in which you meet Tanna, a woman with very special gifts, and Ry Tully, the man who eventually becomes her husband.

In these three short stories a small-town reporter meets a beautiful witch who shows him how mysterious, and dangerous, the world can truly be.

When small-town reporter Ry Tully meets the woman of his dreams, he has no idea what he's getting into.

Tanna is blind, but when fireflies are around, she can see. She's a graduate student in parapsychology, and psychic herself. She's also a second-degree Wiccan priestess--a witch. And her primary duty is to help those in need, whether living, dead, or otherwise.

Will Ry be able to forge a relationship with a woman so different from anyone he's known? Will Tanna rise to the challenges of both her new love, and her chosen path? And will the dark corners of the world be ready for the Firefly Witch?

The Firefly Witch (Amazon) The Firefly Witch (B&N)

There are a couple more anthologies that follow this unusual couple through their increasingly unusual (and sometimes creepy) adventures. One of the things I love about these stories is the way they show Tanna and Ry's always-steady love for one another, no matter what comes.
Croaked (Firefly Witch Tales)
Back Atcha

I hope you'll go check them out. Alex is also putting up some very cool "Day in the Life of a Writer" videos up on his blog, which I'm really enjoying. Writer's Day #6 Alex Bledsoe

Have you read anything recently that you want to recommend? I'm in the middle of an early novel by Tanya Huff (author of the Blood Ties books, among others) called Summon the Keeper (there's a talking cat in it). Lots of fun.

And I'm thinking of doing my own private "Black Friday" sale here...I'll be working at The Artisans' Guild, of course, and not shopping, but I was thinking of doing a one-day sale on my jewelry. Either putting up a few things with slightly cheaper prices than usual, or adding a few items to Etsy and throwing in a signed copy of one of my books for anyone who spends over $75. What do you think? Silly idea?

DONE!

Booyah!

A few minutes ago, I typed two of my favorite words: THE END

(I'm also quite fond of "book contracts" and "chocolate, anyone?")

I actually expected to finish the novel sooner, since I've been pushing to get the manuscript done in time to get it out on submission before the holidays slow the publishing world to a crawl, and I also needed to clear my plate to make jewelry and concentrate on running the shop during the busy season.

But I'd been figuring the book would end up being about 90,000 words...and someone kept moving the ending :-)

As of right now, the book stands at 105,105 words (really...I should play the lottery or something) and 348 pages. Of course, it isn't really finished. I still have to go over the chapters I wrote tonight, and do one last polish edit before sending it out to my agent, Elaine Spencer. (I do serious editing as I go along, so the final so-called first draft is usually pretty shiny.)

And it is out with a few first readers, my main critique partner Lisa and author pal Alex Bledsoe, as well as my pal Skye, and they'll have feedback that will lead to changes, as, no doubt, will Elaine.

But still. THE END.

BOOYAH!

Inspiration & Perspiration: The Current Novel Saga

Thomas Edison once said, "Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration." Now I'm no Thomas Edison, and the genius part is questionable (an IQ test said so, but hello, have you seen my life?)...but when it comes to writing, I think this quote is particularly apt.

So substitute the word "writing" for the word "genius" and there you are.

I'm almost at the end of the current work in progress, a novel I haven't talked about much in specifics because both my agent Elaine Spencer and I are SUPER excited about it, and as far as I can tell, no one else has come up with the idea...a rarity in publishing. So I'm keeping it under my hat until it is ready to send out on submission.

I can tell you, though, that in the midst of the perspiration part of the process (I wrote over 10,000 words this weekend alone, as the book bubbled up and tried to push its way to those magic words, "The End") I have been thinking a lot about the inspiration that led to it.

Don't get me wrong--the idea is all mine. But the glimmerings that led to it, and in particular the novels that inspired me to use words and tell the story in a way that is different from anything I have done before, that all comes down to three of my favorite authors, and three specific books.

If you know these books, and can put together a few clues, you may get an idea about where my hush hush book is heading. Either way, I recommend these three books as highly as any I have ever read.

I am currently rereading (for probably the 3rd or 4th time) the book that kicked it all off for me, Patricia A McKillip's Solstice Wood . McKillp usually writes what I would consider "classic" fantasy, and her use of words to paint vivid pictures is unparallelled. Solstice Wood is a departure from her usual novels, in that it takes place in a realistic modern setting. More or less...

Another of the books that started the pot stirring (or in my case, you might better say cauldron) was Alex Bledsoe's The Hum and the Shiver . I fell in love with Alex's writing through his fabulous Eddie LaCrosse books, which are a spectacular cross between noir mystery novels and the sword and sorcery fantasy I loved in my youth. Now this guy is definitely a genius. The Hum and the Shiver is a new series set in the Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee and contains twists and turns and musical riffs that make it a delight to read.

The last (but not least) of the three was The Enchanted Emporium by Tanya Huff (best known for her Blood Ties books that inspired a TV series). This one is set in Calgary, and involves, well, an enchanted emporium (that is, a store filled with magic--in more ways than the obvious). This is another one I will end up rereading over and over.

The book I am working on [insert secret name here] is not really like any of these books. Except in the ways that it is. But if I can come even close to creating the intriguing characters, well-drawn worlds, and sense of tangible magic that these authors achieved in these three books, then all the perspiration will have been worth it.

Two Men I Love: Recommended Reading

A quick reminder: the next online witchcraft class, "Witchcraft on a Shoestring," starts next Monday, August 27th. Registration closes on the 26th at 6 PM EST, and the class is starting to fill up. I hope to see a few of you there Witchcraft/Writing Workshop blog

I have a stack of books I want to put up in a Recommended Reading post (long overdue), but I just finished reading two that particularly knocked my socks off, so I thought I'd put them up in one post right away, since they just came out.

I realized some time ago that I seem to read a lot more women authors than men. I've never counted, but I'm guessing it is at least 65/35...maybe more. I'm not sure why this is, really. I do have some male authors I have been reading for years, like the late Dick Francis (British mysteries) and the fabulous Jim Butcher (The Dresden Files). And then there are the two men I am currently madly in love with [don't tell their wives!]--

Alex Bledsoe and Jim C. Hines

If you are a regular reader here, you have probably seen me mention Alex before. I even put up a picture of Magic the Cat hogging the new book when it first arrived that blog post. He is an incredibly imaginative and original writer, with a number of different series out, but my favorite has always been his Eddie LeCrosse books. Eddie is a sword jockey--like a cross between a 50's private detective and a sword and sorcery hero. His adventures started with The Sword-Edged Blonde and continue with his 4th Eddie book, Wake of the Bloody Angel. There are pirates (including a mostly-retired pirate queen who is one of the best female protagonists I've seen in years), monsters, and mystery...as well as Eddie's unconventional and enduring love story. This was undeniably the best of them all: gripping, funny, and smart. You're going to want to read this book.

Jim C. Hines is another one with a couple of different series. I adored his Princess series, with kick-ass heroines based on fairy tale princesses like Snow White (but not like any Disney princess you've ever seen, I promise you!). He just started a new "Magic Ex Libris" series, beginning with LIBRIOMANCER in which the hero is a magic user and a librarian. Oh, man--you had me at librarian! This book sucked me in from the first page and didn't let go until I finally put it down at 2 in the morning. (*shakes fist at Jim*) This is another one that featured a female side-protagonist who was completely original, likeable, and fascinating. Hines creates an entire world of magical use involving books; it is unlike anything I've ever read before and will appeal to the reader-geek in everyone. I can't wait for the next book in this series, and to find out what happens with the...er...unconventional love affair that was revealed at the end of this one. I'd give this book six stars, if I could. 

So here are two more books I can recommend highly. What are you reading now that you recommend?

Feline Friday: Magic the Cat Version

Yes, cat lovers, it is that time again. Well, Friday, of course, but also a day when I am so exhausted (from thunderstorms all last evening and on and off all night) that the only way I can manage a post is to simply put up cute cat pictures. Thankfully, I have a never-ending supply...since Magic the Cat is happy to sprawl all over the house being photogenic.

Here ya go, and happy Friday!

Here is Magic lying on my shiny new copy of Alex Bledsoe's Wake of the Bloody Angel which I finally wrestled away from her so I could read it. And man, was it worth it. This book is GREAT!

So, what do y'all have planned for the weekend? I'm going to be out in the garden and yard (once the next batch of thunderstorms passes through this afternoon and evening--gah), going to the dump, and working on some nonfiction projects so I can clear my plate and get back to the current novel. Yes, my life IS glamorous, isn't it ?

Feline Friday: The Pirate Book Version

I was going to post a cute cat picture, and then a picture of the new Alex Bledsoe novel, Wake of a Bloody Angel [follow this link for more info and some cool music], which he was kind enough to send me.

But Magic the Cat very kindly decided to combine the two:

What can I say? She loves a good Eddie LaCrosse book, especially when it has PIRATES. Arg!

I love this series sooooo much. Alex is one of the cleverest authors around, and his combination of noir detective novel and sword and sorcery fantasy is the most original thing I've ever read. Since Magic clearly isn't willing to share, I guess you'll have to get your own :-)

the book on Amazon

Have you read any of Alex's books yet? I'd love to know what you think. If not, what book would you recommend for Magic to read next?

We have a Winner! Alex Bledsoe giveaway

Thanks to all the folks who came to read my pal Alex Bledsoe's guest blog here, and the ones who bounced over to his blog to read my guest post there. And special thanks to those who took the time to comment--we both REALLY appreciate it!

The winner of the hardcover copy of Alex's book, BURN ME DEADLY (the second book in his fabulous Eddie LaCrosse series) is....

DRUMROLL

Angela Drake!

Angela, please email me at magicmysticminerva at yahoo with your address, so I can pop it in the mail to you. If you haven't read the first one, you may want to run out and buy a copy so you can read it first. (Or check your local library--mine has all Alex's books. Yay for libraries!)

Congratulations!

Guest Blog/Giveaway with Author Alex Bledsoe

As my regular readers will know, one of my favorite authors is Alex Bledsoe, who I "met" years ago when we both had short stories in the Pagan Anthology of Short Fiction (Llewellyn 2008). Alex is the author of numerous books in the fantasy genre (my favorites, the Eddie LaCrosse novels which are a mix between noir detective and sword and sorcery--brilliant!), a couple of classic vampire horror with a twist, and his latest, The Hum and The Shiver, which may have created an entirely new genre...Gravel Road Fantasy (like Urban Fantasy, but set in the back hills.



Alex's writing is like the man himself--clever, charming, and never quite what you expect. For instance, would you have guessed that the author of all these books is also a stay-at-home dad? AHA! I thought not.

Alex and I decided to exchange blog posts. My post on his blog today can be found at http://alexbledsoe.com/2012/01/30/guest-blog-deborah-blake-on-maladaptive-intertia/ and here is Alex's kind contribution to my blog. Please show him some love by leaving him a comment :-) And as it happens, I have an extra HARDCOVER copy of BURN ME DEADLY, the second book in his Eddie LaCrosse series, which I'll be giving away to one of today's commenters.

And then go on over to his blog and say hi to me there, and while you're there, feel free to explore a little...

HERE'S ALEX'S POST:

FINDING TIME WHEN YOU’RE OUT OF IT

By Alex Bledsoe

When people find out I'm a full-time writer and also the stay-at-home parent of two small boys (ages 4 and 7), they immediately want to know one thing: how I find time to write.

Well, here’s how I do it.

There's a certain wisdom to the old adage that you find time for anything important to you, and certainly writing is super-important to me. But it's also a matter of prioritizing, and breaking the task down into its components so that you're not trying to do the wrong thing at the wrong time.

For example, for me actual first-draft, pull-from-you-brain writing requires relative silence and solitude. I try to average between one and two thousand words a day, so to reach that goal, I get up early, between 4 and 5 AM, so that I've got the house to myself. That lasts until about 6:30, when my oldest son wanders in for his daily dose of breakfast and Japanese cartoons. Once I've got him settled I might get another half hour until my youngest son awakes, and after that there's basically no more writing. After I get them to school/preschool, I have another break of about three hours.

At 12 my youngest son gets home, and we pick up my oldest at 3:15. Especially in the winter, it means they're around constantly. However, it doesn't mean I can't use the time productively. When they're underfoot, constantly interrupting and demanding unreasonable things like attention and affection, I'm still able to edit and revise. Working on existing text is easier, or at least can accommodate more distractions, than first-draft writing. So when the kids are around, that's what I do.

When you start so early, you often run out of steam (at least mentally) pretty early in the day. By dinnertime there's not much creative juice left. But that doesn't mean I can't work, because that's when I do my research and reading. Since I'm usually researching something that fascinates me enough to include it in one of my novels, it's fun rather than work. And as for reading...again like the old adage says, you can't be a writer if you're not also a reader. I do most of my fiction reading outside the genres in which I write, something I'd recommend to anyone who doesn't want their genre fiction to read like everyone else's. And I read lots of nonfiction.

And with that, my writer's day is done.

I don't hold this up as any sort of example of how it must be done. Every writer is different; some do their best work late at night, which I can't imagine. Some produce first drafts that are very close to the finished work, something else I can't do or even comprehend. But one thing we all have in common is that we've figured out how to make our writing a priority--not more important, but as important as other aspects of our lives.

BIO: Alex Bledsoe grew up in west Tennessee an hour north of Graceland (home of Elvis) and twenty minutes from Nutbush (birthplace of Tina Turner). He now lives in a Wisconsin town famous for trolls. His books include The Hum and the Shiver, Dark Jenny and The Girls with Games of Blood.

And here are a links to a few of his books. Go get one. I promise you won't be sorry. (Unless you read the vampire books late at night. These are NOT shiny vamps. They are horror vamps. Don't say I didn't warn you.)

Hum and Shiver: http://www.powells.com/biblio/2-9780765327444-2

Dark Jenny: http://www.powells.com/biblio/1-9780765327437-0

Girls w/ Games: http://www.powells.com/biblio/1-9780765323842-2

A Rave Review: The Hum and The Shiver by Alex Bledsoe (book give-away)

I have a lot of friends who are writers; you've seen me talk about them and their books here often. Many of these folks are on my lists of favorites to read and recommend; amongst them there are a few I consider EXCEPTIONAL--to the point where I await their newest books with an almost painful anticipation, then heave a sigh when I'm done reading and have to settle in to wait for the next.

Alex Bledsoe is one of these.

I just finished reading his new book, THE HUM AND THE SHIVER, and man, does it ever make you do both! The book's official release date is tomorrow, September 27th, and I was fortunate enough to get an advanced reader's copy from Alex's agent, the lovely Marlene Stringer. (Thanks, Marlene! I owe you one.) I'm going to tell you why you want to run out tomorrow and get a copy of this book.

But first, let me tell you about Alex. Alex and I first stumbled across each other when we were both finalists in the contest that led to our inclusion in the Llewellyn/BBI Media joint project, THE PAGAN ANTHOLOGY OF SHORT FICTION. We bonded over the shared torture of waiting to find out if either of us won (I came in third...the only time I've ever beaten Alex at anything, and at that, I think he was robbed) and then later over shared interests and beliefs. We've never met in person, because he lives in Wisconson and I live in upstate New York, but we keep in touch and applaud each other's successes.

I fell in love with Alex's writing with the publication of his first book, THE SWORD EDGED BLONDE. Who wouldn't love a guy who could create a world that is a cross between traditional sword and sorcery and a hard-edged detective novel...and pull it off beautifully. Genius, I tell you. The Library Journal called it "A well-crafted gem of a tale," which sums it up pretty well, I think. And the two books that followed it in the series just got better. (Number four is coming soon.)

Now there is THE HUM AND THE SHIVER. Here's the blurb from the back of the book:

No one knows where the Tufa came from, or how they ended up in the Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee, yet when the first Europeans arrived, they were already there. Dark-haired, enigmatic, and suspicious of outsiders, the Tufa live quiet lives in the hills and valleys of Cloud County. While their origins may be lost to history, there are clues in their music—hints of their true nature buried in the songs they have passed down for generations.

Private Bronwyn Hyatt returns from Iraq wounded in body and in spirit, only to face the very things that drove her away in the first place: her family, her obligations to the Tufa, and her dangerous ex-boyfriend. But more trouble lurks in the mountains and hollows of her childhood home. Cryptic omens warn of impending tragedy, and a restless “haint” lurks nearby, waiting to reveal Bronwyn’s darkest secrets. Worst will need to summon the strength to take her place among the true Tufa and once again fly on the night winds. . . .

The Tufa are a fascinating people with secrets hidden underneath their secrets, and Bronwyn is an imperfect and tortured protagonist who nonetheless captures your heart. Bledsoe's writing is as sharp, evocative, and forceful as any author I have ever read; he draws you so deeply into the East Tennessee world of the Tufa, you are shocked to put down the book and find yourself on the couch at home. You live and breath and sing with the Tufa, and ache and cry and wonder with every character in this entralling book. There is magic hidden on the gravel roads of Cloud Country; the kind of magic that could only come from the creative mind of the amazing Alex Bledsoe.

I can't wait to read the next book in this series. And I can't wait to hear what you all think of this book. So here's what I'm going to do. I happen to have an extra copy of his second book in the Eddie La Crosse series, BURN ME DEADLY (The Sword Edge Blond's follow up). In hardcover, no less. I'm going to give that book away to the first person who buys a copy of THE HUM AND THE SHIVER, reads it, and posts a review on either Amazon, Goodreads, or both. (Of course, you have to come back here and tell me you did it.)

And of course, I want all of you to check out this amazing book and tell me what you think. I guarantee you won't be disappointed. Here are links to Amazon, so you can check out the book, and to Alex's website, so you can check out the guy himself. Be sure and tell him I sent you :-)

http://www.amazon.com/Hum-Shiver-Alex-Bledsoe/dp/0765327449
http://alexbledsoe.com/