• EVE OF DARKNESS is now available on Amazon for your pre-ordering and/or wish listing pleasure! Due to an error of some sort or another, the book was incorrectly cataloged as a fantasy romance on the Amazon site. Tor is working on getting that fixed.
• EVE OF DARKNESS can also be found on Shelfari, Library Thing, Good Reads, etc. if you’d like to wish list the book that way.
• There are excerpt widgets available. You can find them here: www.sjday.net/extras/downloads/ If you would be willing to post one of these on your blog/site/etc. I’d be hugely grateful plus I’ve got a giveaway planned for those who talk about the book/series, so stay tuned for that!

Yay! Yesterday I sent off the latest MARKED book! It was late, and very long (longest book I’ve ever written), but I am so glad to have finished it! I still — after publishing 9 single titles, with 3 more in the queue, plus novellas, shorts, etc. — stare at a finished book and go, “OMG! I wrote all that! I made that whole story up in my head, then mashed all the words together to tell it to someone else!” It’s amazing when I think about it that way. I always start off a book looking at the giant mountain of pages I have to fill and think, “How the heck are you going to do that?” I’m always surprised when I manage to get to the end.

So, now I will quietly freak out while I wait for word from my editor. Is it brilliant, boring, bad, best-ever, or something else entirely?

I’m taking the rest of the week off. I have a pile of books I’m eager to read. I also have some ARCs winging their way to me from writer friends and I can’t wait to dig into them! I have two movies that have been impatiently waiting to be watched until I finished my book. Plus housework stuff — laundry, vacuuming, etc. On Monday, I will start a new book and begin the process all over again.

What’s been happening over the last couple weeks since I blogged?

• We adopted a dog from the local animal shelter. A white and tan chihuahua mix. Her name is Jesse and we think she’s soooo pretty. She is such a lovey dog and she adores the kids. We’re very happy to have her.
• I am impatiently awaiting the release of Cry Wolf by Patricia Briggs. Seriously. The wait is killing me. I’m dying for this book!

So what are your plans for the rest of the week/weekend?

If you’re attending the RWA National Convention in San Fransisco next month, you could pick up an Advance Bound Manuscript of EVE OF DARKNESS while you’re there!

I will be signing copies of EOD on Saturday, August 2nd in SALON 1 from 2-3:30 or while supplies last.

This event is not open to the public, only to attendees of the convention. There will be several other Tor authors signing their upcoming releases, so if you like to see what’s coming before it gets here, you know where to go.

So today the UPS truck arrived bearing gifts — ABMs (Advance Bound Manuscripts) for EVE OF DARKNESS!

Aren’t they lovely? I’ve never received ABMs before. ARCs (Advanced Reading Copies), yes. But not ABMs.

What’s the difference? Well, a bound manuscript is just that — the original manuscript bound into book form. This is often done before edits or copy edits for quote solicitation purposes and for certain media/distribution outlets that require far advance notice. An advance reading copy, on the other hand, has usually been edited and sometimes copy edited.

The ARCs for my other publishers look similar to these ABMs — text-only covers (in various colors) and bright white pages. Tor ARCs are prettier, usually bearing the cover art and sized to match the actual book. (These ABMs are trade-size, but the actual book and ARCs will be mass market.)

So now I’m faced with a unique dilemma. What to do with them? One copy is earmarked for the winner of the Brenda Novak auction (a lovely and generous person who paid over $300 for it.) I’ll keep one for me. That leaves me with four copies. Ideally, they should help to promote the book in some way, but it’s way too early to send out to booksellers and review outlets. However, hanging on to them until it’s time to send out ARCs would be silly. By then I’ll have actual ARCs with covers on them and I’ll be sending those out instead.

As far as dilemmas go, this isn’t a bad one to have. Still I’d love to do something with them that serves the purpose of making them. Hopefully, I will think of something…

In the meantime, I’m happy to hold them!

Contest! What can you win?

For two centuries, Professor Dalrymple’s Patented Fairy Catching System has helped fairy seekers to attract and observe their shimmering friends closeup. Its “catch and release” approach-stressing the safety of the fairy-has helped earn this system seals of approval from both the Society to Keep Fairies Free (SKFF) and the more secretive Fairy Fellowship Coalition (FFC). This tongue-in-cheek kit includes fairy dust for attracting fairies, a fairy-sized net, magnifying glass, jar with stopper, and a fairy field guide, all in a pretty carryall bag.

And a MARKED coffee mug in which to enjoy java or tea while waiting for the fairies. Unlike the lighthearted fairy kit, the mug is dark — black with gold foil and white lettering. Kick-ass. Perfect for starting off a demon-killing day.

Enter here: www.sjday.net/extras/contest

I’ve donated a “basket” to Brenda Novak’s wonderful 4th Annual On-line Auction for Diabetes Research.

The winner of this auction will receive a tote bag filled with goodies including:

Two coffee mugs, a bag of Star buck’s Komodo Dragon Blend Coffee, and an ARC (Advance Readers Copy) of EVE OF DARKNESS along with a few surprises.

If you’d like to support this great cause by bidding on my donation, you can do so here. Thank you!

Sorry! I’ve been quiet since I returned from NY, I know. I’m busy mailing out everything that needed to go out, including stuff for the Romantic Times Convention. (If you’re going, you’ve heard about our Safari Happy Hour, right?) Tomorrow I’ll be speaking on a romance panel with Mary Castillo and Susan Squires for Literary Orange — a readers’ event put together by the Orange County Public Library. (And yes, it’s the same OC as the TV show and that lame “real housewives.”)

I’m also wrapping up the second book in the MARKED series. I didn’t update my NY reporting after Thursday, so you don’t know that I hung out with my Tor editor Friday (9 hours! LOL She’s fabulous!) and was able to see the Tor offices and meet everyone. Can I just say I’m super happy to be in such enthusiastic hands? They’re excited about the MARKED series, which is a huge thrill for me, of course, since I’m excited. They had MARKED stuff all over the offices and they shared some of their ideas with me. It’s still early (and obviously I’m still writing!) but we’re gearing up to spread the word (and ARCs!). I’ll keep you posted.

I finally registered for RWA National yesterday. I’m a RITA^® finalist again this year and it’s in my home state, so I couldn’t miss it, but I had to get through NY first. I just prayed that they wouldn’t sell out in the meantime and, thankfully, they didn’t. Next is RT and BEA. So it’s been busy around here (and boring, which is why I haven’t put you to sleep with the details before now.)

I hope your week has been a good one and that you have fun stuff planned for the weekend! ((hugs))