Romance Authors In Conversation Event

 

Hello lovely readers! If you weren't able to register for the Romance Authors In Conversation event that took place yesterday (featuring Nalini, Amanda Bouchet and Ilona Andrews), here's the recording. :) 

~Ashwini

Night Shift Anthology - November 25th

News about the Psy-Changeling novella I mentioned a while back! Bastien's story will be in the NIGHT SHIFT anthology later this year. Bastien is Mercy's oldest brother, first seen in BRANDED BY FIRE. Check out the amazing lineup! 

No cover yet, but it should be coming soon. :-)

Four masters of urban fantasy and paranormal romance plunge readers into the dangerous, captivating world unearthed beyond the dark...

New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singh delivers a smoldering story with Secrets at Midnight, as the scent of Bastien Smith’s elusive lover ignites a possessiveness in him that’s as feral as it is ecstatic. And now that he’s found his mate, he’ll do anything to keep her.

In #1 New York Times bestselling author Ilona Andrews’ novella, Magic Steals, when people start going missing, shapeshifting tigress Dali Harimau and jaguar shifter Jim Shrapshire must uncover the truth about the mysterious creatures responsible.

From Milla Vane—a warrior princess must tame The Beast of Blackmoor to earn a place among her people. But she quickly discovers that the beast isn't a monster, but a barbarian warrior who intends to do some taming himself.

It’s seer Makenna Frazier's first day on the job at Supernatural Protection and Investigations, and her first assignment is more than she bargained for when bodyguard duty for a leprechaun prince’s bachelor party goes every which way but right in national bestselling author Lisa Shearin’s Lucky Charms.

Amazon paperback pre-order already up (Thanks Shayera for the heads up). And it's also now available for pre-order on Kindle and Itunes.

Ebook & more paperback pre-order links to come as they go live.

Gunmetal Magic - Ilona Andrews

Link to Excerpt

My super professional review: This book is awesome!!!!

I love the voice of writing team Ilona Andrews, and inhale their books. This one was no different - the plot is fascinating, and Andrea and Raphael make an explosive couple. (For those of you who've read the book already, I have one word for you: carpet. :D)

Gunmetal Magic is set in the Kate Daniels world, but even if you haven't read the other books in the series, I think you can pick this up without problems, as it focuses not on Kate but her best friend Andrea. Of course, the entire series is amazing, and if you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend you check it out. You can read more about the books here.

Spoiler note: If you have read Gunmetal Magic, please keep any comments spoiler-free or sneaky so folks aren't accidentally spoiled. Thanks. :-)

Here's the backcover blurb for Gunmetal Magic:

Some people have everything figured out—Andrea Nash is not one of those people.

After being kicked out of the Order of the Knights of Merciful Aid, Andrea’s whole existence is in shambles. All she can do is to try to put herself back together, something made easier by working for Cutting Edge, a small investigative firm owned by her best friend Kate Daniels.

When several shapeshifters working for Raphael Medrano—the male alpha of the Clan Bouda and Andrea’s former lover—die unexpectedly at a dig site, Andrea is assigned to investigate…and must work with Raphael. As Andrea’s search for the killer leads her into the secret underbelly of supernatural Atlanta, she knows that dealing with her feelings for Raphael might have to take a back seat to saving the world…

 

Silver Shark - Ilona Andrews

Winners: Thanks for all the great comments everyone! Here are the names of the random winners of a copy of Silver Shark. 

If there's an asterix by your name, that means we don't have a contact email for you, so please email naliniDOTassistantATgmailDOTcom with your preferred format within the next 72 hours. Everyone else should be getting an email from us soon.

- *Kalyrra
- kittygopounce
- CYP@ a bookalicious story
- *Jill B
- BerndLSch
- Kalynn
- KristiD
- Christine
- Laura darkelvingirl
- Jacqueline C

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According to Ilona Andrews, Silver Shark is about "A millionaire boss on a planet in the distant future. [The heroine] is a secretary who can kill you with her brain."

How could I not want to read that?! Now that I have read this novella, I can tell you that it is awesome. It's science fiction romance, but trust me, even if you don't like sf romance, you'll enjoy this.

Here's the more official blurb, along with a link to an excerpt:

Claire Shannon is a Kinsman, a woman gifted with enhanced mental capabilities. Her skills and her life were taken over by the military to fight in war that has raged on her home planet for decades. But as the war ends, she is forced to hide her abilities in order to make a new life for herself as a civilian. It’s a new persona, a new planet and new job that has her crossing paths with the powerful and alluring Venturo Escana. Is she strong enough to hide her true nature from her perceptive new boss? And as they grow closer, will she even still want to try?

Claire was a heroine I rooted for, as she tried to find her way in a beautiful new world that seems insane to her, coming as she does from the relentless gray of a wartorn mining colony. And Venturo was both delicious and dangerous, the perfect millionaire boss hero.

Giveaway: Because I thought this novella was so fantastic, I'm going to give away ten copies. This is an ebook only novella, so if you win, you'll be sent an electronic file in the format you choose (as long as it's available). If you don't have an e-reader, do still enter - as this is a novella (35K), I think you'd be fine reading it on your computer.

To enter the random draw, just leave a comment on this post by 5pm Saturday 1, October 2011, New Zealand time, with your answer to this:

If space travel were possible for everyone, would you jump on board? If so, what would you hope to see in your travels?

Please note that only comments on the Silver Shark post on the main blog will count, so if you're reading this on a feed at Goodreads etc, swing by the main blog to comment. Also, make sure you leave us a way to contact you, or check the blog on Sunday to see if you've won.

By entering you give permission for your name to be posted on the blog should you win.

The winner(s) will be picked using random.org and their names announced on the blog the following Sunday. International entries welcome. One entry per household. No purchase necessary to enter. Void where prohibited.

Contest Now Closed.

Alpha Showdown & Kiss of Snow

The lovely Jaci Burton is giving away a copy of Kiss of Snow, so swing by and enter if you'd like to go in the draw. 

Smexy Books has posted up a new interview with me, along with another giveaway.

Also, it has been brought to my attention that Raphael is up against Kate Daniels in the Alpha Showdown. Go forth and vote.

(p.s. Who else is looking forward to Magic Slays? I'm so there!)

Cover Love: Angels of Darkness

Love, love, LOVE!!!


This anthology will be out in October. My novella features Noel, the vampire who was seriously injured in Archangel's Kiss.

Update! The artist is John Blumen. See more of his beautiful work here!

Bayou Moon by Ilona Andrews

I posted about how awesome I think Bayou Moon is over on Oddshots, but I'll say it again. It's a fantastic book!

Also, I think it stands very well alone, so you can dive straight into this even if you haven't read the first book in the series - On the Edge.

Excerpt on Ilona's Website.

Magic Bleeds, Interview & Writing

You all know how much I love Ilona's books, so it'll come as no surprise that I think this book is fantastic. Magic Bleeds is out now, so check it out! (And if you haven't read this series, start with book 1 - Magic Bites).

~

Last week, I had a radio interview with the lovely Helen Lowe. If you'd like to listen, go to this link.

~

I've started working on Hawke's book - wrote a great scene yesterday. I tend to write my way into a story, and often, some of the scenes aren't used in the final manuscript. However, I think this scene will definitely make it :-)

How is the week going for you all?

Ilona Andrews - On the Edge

A quick detour from the travel updates.

I've read On The Edge and it's fantastic. It's out now, so check it out!

Countdown to Branded By Fire: 3 days to go!

Winners: And the random winners are:

Pissenlit - Touched by Light by Catherine Spangler
Katie S. - Just the Sexiest Man Alive by Julie James

Congratulations!

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The things I do for you guys. Today, I went on a daring raid and *borrowed* Curran from Ilona Andrews' Livejournal. Under no circumstances is anyone to tell Ilona. We'll give him back...maybe *grin*

Oooh, look at those eyes.

Branded By Fire featuring another hot and brooding male, officially hits the shelves on Tuesday, woohoo!!

To celebrate the cyber-launch, today I'm giving away a copy of Touched By Light by Catherine Spangler, and a copy of Just the Sexiest Man Alive by Julie James. We chatted about Just the Sexiest Man Alive at this Friday Book Club :)

Entry rules are the same as Monday! Leave a comment answering the day's burning question and you're in. Bring a friend or spread the word about the party and I'll give you an extra entry or entries. Also, don't forget to let me know if you've already got one of the books.

And today's burning question - well, with all this testosterone on the blog today, it can really only be this: Who do you consider the sexiest man in the world?

Friday Book Club

It's Friday Book Club time again! This is all about recommending books, so leave a comment about a book you enjoyed, and, if you like, a few words about why.

I've been reading fabulous book after fabulous book. Most of it's not releasing for a while, so I won't tease you...too much. But I have to share - I'm on that happy good-book-run high.

Meljean Brook's Demon Forged will be out in October and it's fantastic. It has all the elements I love in Meljean's books - strong, gorgeously drawn characters, a world so real I totally believe it, and the punch of powerful emotion.

Ilona Andrews' next Kate Daniels book (out March 2010) is awesome. I'll post more on this closer to the release date, but trust me, you'll love it.

I'm currently halfway through Ilona Andrews' On the Edge (out in October) and it's soooooo good! The world and the characters are so real they leap off the page. I can't wait to get back to it!

More to come on all these books nearer their releases, but if you're not reading Meljean and Ilona, you need to!

Okay, hit me with your recs!

Magic Strikes - Ilona Andrews

This book is so good on so many levels that I don't know where to start. It's got humor, action and yeah, let's not forget the sexual tension. I'm convinced Ilona is trying to kill us all with the way Kate and Curran are dancing around each other.

I love Kate - I love that she's strong but not all-powerful, that she has friends she cares deeply about, that she doesn't always do what's best for her - it all makes her wonderfully, likeably human.

As for Curran - okay, he's seriously hot, but he's also got all that uber-alpha stuff going on that would drive any woman to insanity, but I love him, too. Especially after this book. (See, now you want to read it don't you? *g*).

All the secondary characters are fantastic - I feel as if we get a glimpse into each and every one. From a writer's perspective, it's brilliantly done. From a reader's, it's just magic.

Magic Strikes releases March 31st (that's today!). You can read an excerpt on Ilona's site. If you haven't started the series, Magic Bites is the first book.

Who else loves this series?

Magic Strikes Giveaway

Follow the link to Ilona & Gordon's livejournal. Be quick!

Angels' Blood Countdown: Ilona Andrews - The Kate Daniels Series

Winner: The random numbers have rolled and the lucky winner is Zealith! Zealith, please email me at nalinisinghwrites AT gmail DOT com.

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7 days to the release of ANGELS' BLOOD and only 1 till ANGELS' PAWN hits the e-shelves!!

Here's what Christine of The Happily Ever After... had to say after beginning ANGELS' BLOOD:

I started reading Angel's Blood last night and it is amazing. ..All the hype is true! Honestly, I'm only on page 133, but so far, it is really fantastic. The characters, the series premise, the conflict, the WORLD. Brilliant. Just brilliant. You're going to love it!

As part of the countdown celebrations, I declare today Ilona Andrews' day!!

Yes, that's right, not only do I have signed copies of Magic Bites & Magic Burns thanks to Ilona Andrews, I also have an ARC of Magic Strikes courtesy of the wonderful Anne Sowards at Ace/Roc!

If you've been reading this blog a while, you know that Ilona is one of my favorite writers, and I'm certain Magic Strikes is going to be completely full of awesome. Click on the Ilona Andrews tag at the bottom of this post to read about Magic Bites and Magic Burns. You can also check out excerpts on Ilona's webpage.

Here's the blurb for Magic Strikes, which releases March 31st! (More Kate and Curran mmmm)

Drafted into working for the Order of Merciful Aid, mercenary Kate Daniels has more paranormal problems than she knows what to do with these days. And in Atlanta, where magic comes and goes like the tide, that's saying a lot.

But when Kate's werewolf friend Derek is discovered nearly dead, she must confront her greatest challenge yet. As her investigation leads her to the Midnight Games - an invitation only, no holds barred, ultimate preternatural fighting tournament - she and Curran, the Lord of the Beasts, uncover a dark plot that may forever alter the face of Atlanta's shapeshifting community...

To enter to win the entire set, all you have to do is leave your answer to this question in the comments (question courtesy of Amy): Which author would you target with a gun/ability/spell/whatever that makes them write the same great quality stuff, but FASTER (because isn't that what we all want - more great books by our fav writers)!?!?

Sunday Linkage

In case you haven't seen this yet, Harlequin is offering free downloads of 16 books as part of it's 60th anniversary celebrations. They've got a whole range of books from Desire, to Suspense, to Steeple Hill, so make sure to check it out.

Ilona Andrews is running a contest to give away an ARC of Magic Strikes (which I might possibly already have *evil grin*) - all you have to do is spread the word that the writing team of Ilona Andrews (Ilona and Gordon), will be at Opusfest, March 13th to 15th. Click on the link for more info.

Meljean Brook is giving away a copy of Carolyn Jewel's Scandal. You have till Sunday night to enter.

p.s. If anyone asks, I was not on the interwebs today.

Interview: Ilona Andrews

I fell in love with Ilona Andrews' voice last year when I read Magic Bites. After reading Magic Burns (releasing April 1st), I have a feeling this will be an enduring affair. I'm delighted to present an interview with the authors behind the books! (Ilona's also agreed to swing by and answer any reader questions, so put your thinking caps on!)

Who is Ilona Andrews?

Ilona: Ilona Andrews is an international woman of mystery. Actually most of our fiction is written by my husband Gordon and I. His first name is actually Andrew.

Gordon: Gordon is the name I chose to be called when I became an adult. I was in the Navy for four years and nobody there actually called me by my first name. And when I met Ilona, she called me Gordon as well.

Ilona: A Southern Russian woman habit. For Kate Daniels series the publisher suggested a female pseudonym, so we glued our two first names together.

For those of you unfamiliar with your work, how about a quick summary of what these books are about?

Ilona: The books are set in alternative Atlanta. The world is battered by magic waves: they come and go as they please. When magic is up, cars stall, guns don't work, and mythical creatures rampage through downtown. When magic is down, magic users lose their power and defensive spells vanish. Magic hates tall buildings and chews them to rubble, so the world is in ruins, but people are resilient and they work around it.

In this world lives Kate Daniels. Kate likes her sword a little too much and has hard time controlling her mouth. But she also has some interesting abilities that frequently make her a target.

In the first book, MAGIC BITES, Kate's guardian is murdered, and she must choose to hide or to pursue his preternatural killer. Hiding is easy, but the right choice is rarely easy. In the sequel, MAGIC BURNS, out this April, Kate is trying to protect a little girl during a magic wave of catastrophic proportions.

Do you plan to write a specific number of Kate Daniels books?

Gordon: It depends on whether or not ACE decides to continue the series.

Ilona: We're under contract for four and have it thought out to five, but like Gordon said, it's mostly up to the publisher at this point.

How does the whole writing with another person work? Do you have a system, or do you duke it out until one of you wins?

Gordon: I don't think it's all that confrontational. We discuss it but it's a collaboration, not a contest of wills. I always thought it was very similar to a marriage. It's about compromises, figuring out who is good at what, and compensating for each other's weakness.

Ilona: We have occasional arguments, but we've been together for a while and we generally think along the same lines. Gordon typically is better with plot resolution than I am and I'm better with setting, for example.

Talking about duking it out - there are several awesome fight scenes in Magic Burns. Did you choreograph those or did it just come out as you were writing? Who's the fight-scene expert?

Gordon: We always choreograph fight scenes to make sure they make sense.

Ilona: Gordon studied judo while in Japan. We're both familiar with firearms and some basic sword fighting. Mostly choreographing fight scenes requires a lot of research. But yes we do actually get in the middle of the floor and try to figure out the most likely move or the easiest target. One of the things I hope people will keep in mind is that these fights are there for entertainment purposes only. We do take artistic liberties in the name of coolness.

Gordon: In practice it's very difficult to decapitate a person, for example. Pulling a sword out of the body takes a lot of strength, because of the suction involved.

Kate has an interesting history, which we get more info on in this book - did you work all that out way in advance? Or has some of it come as a surprise to you, too?

Ilona: No, we have it all planned out. We are so sad.

Soooooo, you have this uber-sexy/scary as heck shapeshifter, Curran, in your books. Why do you think so many readers react so strongly to him?

Gordon: He's a strong dependable guy who has responsibilities. He takes care of his people and he'll do what he says he will do. That's what a man supposed to do. Both he and Kate are autonomous. They have their own lives and histories, but even though they started from different places, they arrived to a somewhat similar world view. Unfortunately, they disagree on their methods and it's interesting to see them interact.

Ilona: Curran's an interesting character. He's not a bad boy or an anti-hero in a strict sense of the word. He's powerful and dangerous, but he isn't unreasonable despite what Kate might say. I think that if you were his friend and you were in trouble, he'd drop everything and come to rescue you no matter how dangerous the situation might be. He is Beast Lord, however, and has been one for quite some time. When one commands a thousand shapeshifters, one tends to develop certain arrogance.

The whole magic wave vs tech wave stuff is really interesting. Any background on how you came up with the concept?

Gordon: I think as humans, it would probably very difficult for us to have both magic and technology. When I was younger, I read a book (sorry, don't recall the name now), where there was a god Tech. He was a very small god, who started out when the first bow was made. Other gods made fun of him. But the more humans developed, the stronger he grew until he finally became incredibly powerful. On the funny side, when he appeared, he always looked like Clark Kent. And magic and technology mix makes such a cool world.

Ilona: There are so many stories where the magic is going out of the world. Tolkien's work, for example, explores that theme. And it always made me so sad to read about it. I mean, we yearn for magic. Look at the film industry – we basically use cutting edge technology to create magic on screen. It's an integral part of being human: to want a touch of something mystical and unexplained. It seemed natural to bring about "reverse" apocalypse: magic is back with a vengeance. There are some cartoons that played with that theme and we both really enjoyed them.

Gordon: Thundarr the Barbarian.

Ilona: Heman. Guys on mechanical eagles with swords.

Gordon: Magic that never was and technology that never will be.

Ilona: We've officially outed ourselves as total geeks.

Gordon: Yep.

I hear you're in an anthology next year with some very kewl people - can you give us hints about what your story's going to be?

Ilona: I heard Nalini Singh is going to be in that anthology. How cool is that? Our story will be about Kate and hellhounds.

Follow up question - do you think readers unfamiliar with your world will be able to dive into the novella and understand it?

Gordon: We'll try to write it so they can.

Getting back to Kate and Curran (not that I'm obsessed or anything), are these two ever going to get up close and personal? (I'm torn whether I want this to happen or not. The push/pull between them is just so fascinating.)

Ilona: I'm sorry, you'll just have to read it. Thank you so much for having us over!

Gordon: Thank you! We enjoyed it.

A huge thank you to Ilona and Gordon for the interview! Here's the link to their website if you'd like to read excerpts and find out more about the series.

And now, feel free to grill Ilona! (Maybe if we work together, she'll let something slip...)

Weekly Catchup

Google Reader refuses to work for me anymore so I'm hideously behind on all my blog reading - however I've managed to pick up a few cool links for you.

First up, huge congratulations to PC & Kristin Cast - Chosen just hit #2 on the NYT list!!!! Can we give a big woohoo!!!!

Also, a heads up that Friday (U.S. time) is the first anniversary of PW's Beyond Her Book blog - and Barbara Vey is throwing a mega-party, complete with all sorts of cool stuff. So don't forget to swing by.

Magic Bites author Ilona Andrews is answering questions over at the RT Forum, so go pester her, ask her any questions you have about the Kate Daniels' books!

And you guys must go read about the DABWAHA - this is going to be a tournament like no other!

Okay, that's all I got. What's your news? Catch me up people!

Of Thievery & Exercise

I exercised today. Exercise is good. It keeps me from turning into a potato. But man is it tough to get out of bed for it!

However, since I am an intergalactic woman of mystery, I must make the effort. You didn't know I was an intergalactic woman of mystery? Well...let me tell you story. It all began after I read Ilona Andrews' Magic Bites. As I try to do with authors I enjoy, I dropped her an email to say how much I liked it. Guess what happened next? Ms Andrews promptly stole my name - go here to read about Nalini, the woman with blades and poison!

I feel I must now steal Ilona's name - hmmm....

Magic Bites - Ilona Andrews

This is an awesome book. I closed the last page and immediately wanted to read the next one.

The story focuses around Kate, a mercenary who hires herself out to deal with magical nasties in a world where tech and magic are competing for the upper hand (the magic's winning).

Then we've got vampires, shapechangers and an all-around cool world. I just really liked the whole setup. For a more detailed review, swing by Dear Author, which is where I saw this book first mentioned. And here's a link to the excerpt on the author's website.

So, how was everyone's weekend?