A Book By Any Other Name

So I spent the last few days polishing Ben and Dave's story and finding two, count them, TWO new names for books.

Carina Press, if you didn't know already (have I shouted it enough yet? I DON'T THINK SO!), has accepted my vegetarian vampire story, but requested I come up with a different name than Norwegian Wood. Poo. I liked that name, but it's not the first time I've had an editor say "Great book! Now we just need to change the name!" Ouch. The entire time I was trying to come up with a new name I could hear the song playing sadly in my head.

Then again, maybe that's why I was asked to change it.

So I came up with four possibilities and fired them off this morning. Hopefully they'll like the one that was my favorite, but I don't want to confuse anyone by mentioning what I sent them until I get final word back. I then booted up Ben and Dave's story and began writing the synopsis with the understanding I couldn't sent it to my editor without, you guessed it, a NEW NAME.

What's with me and coming up with bad names lately? It's probably a good thing I've already named my kids, or they'd be Apollo and Demetrius or something equally "My kid will get his ass kicked on a regular basis" bad.

Anyway, Worth Fighting For had to be ditched. It just didn't fit the story, and I hated the replacement name, Only You. It took writing the synopsis to give me the name. Oddly enough, it's the one that I'd originally intended for the story but changed my mind about when I wrote the outline. Finding Forgiveness has been fired off to my Samhain editor, and I'm liking the new name. Hopefully, so will Tera, or I'll be banging my head on the keyboard once more moaning "Naaaames! Naaaaaaaames!" while Dusty ponders what has to be the coming zombie apocalypse.

(Trust me. It's better if you don't know.)

New Contract With Carina Press!

I can finally announce it: Norwegian Wood (the name WILL change, just not sure to what or when) will be released by Carina Press in Spring 2011! WOOT! My vegetarian vampire and his dryad love have found a home. I'm thrilled to be joining Carina as one of their authors. I've already spoken to my editor, and the contracts have been signed on my end.

I've got a small, unedited blurb on the Coming Soon page of my website. I don't want to post and excerpt page until after the new title is chosen. As soon as I know, I'll create the page and post about it here, on Twitter and on Facebook!

Eye of the Beholder Contest and Video!

Didn't I promise you a contest today? Well guess what: you're also getting a book trailer!


Wanna win an electronic copy of Eye of the Beholder? To enter, just go to the Contact Me page of my website and send me your email address and your name/handle. I'll announce the winner on October 18!

And since it comes out around my anniversary, I'm doing a two-fer: Win both Eye of the
Beholder AND the previous book in the series, Very Much Alive. So if you haven't read the first book of the True Destiny series, now is your chance to get them both!

And here's the book trailer for Travis and Jamie. Enjoy!

WIPS and (Gold) Chains

Wow. Progress on Artistic Visions is going along at a pretty good pace. For a story I couldn't get the main characters to talk to me about they sure have become remarkably vocal. It's to the point where I've sheered off into areas I hadn't planned on exploring, like an unlikely ally and the Dunne's acceptance of Robin as a good friend rather than someone to be feared. Shane's unique abilities are really coming into play and will foreshadow some of the future Gray Court books. Akane is resistant to the idea of a truebond at first, but she's slowly coming around.

I'm at the point where Shane is about to find out that gold is an aphrodisiac when dragons ingest it. Needless to say, that scene will be written while the kids are in school, because they should not be subjected to their mother cackling like a demented woman too often. It might damage their little psyches.

I'm a third of the way through and moving along nicely. I'll have to add in some parts where I explain some of the powers the characters have, but that will happen in the Meat Grinder. And it looks like Robin will get his story after Shane's, which will make The Hob the fourth Gray Court book.

Can you guess who will be the fifth?

WINNER!

The winner of the autographed copy of Animal Attraction is...

KIM M!

Congratulations, Kim! And I hope you like your name in purple; I'm feeling very purple-y today.

I'll be starting the new contest for Eye of the Beholder some time around the 17th, so keep your eyes open. I'm thinking since it comes out around my anniversary, I'd do a two-fer: Win both Eye of the Beholder AND the previous book in the series, Very Much Alive!

P.S.: Amazon has a great deal going right now: Buy Animal Attraction, Mating Games and Dare to Believe in print for $32.18. That's practically three for the price of two, so if you were planning on picking these up, this is a great deal.

New Book Trailer!

Animal Attraction comes out in print on Tuesday, September 8th! WOOT! Belle and Rick and Gabe and Sarah!