Insert Witty Title Here

It's Time for the Seven Deadly Sins Countdown!

2007-10-31T08:15:00.000-04:00

Argh, Wordpress on my website is down, exceeded, what have you. And so, back to Blogger for a moment! But really, I don't update this site any more, so if you haven't yet, please redirect to my website blog (is that redundant?) going forward. Just not now, when I can't get onto it. Argh, again.

Today is HALLOWEEN 2007 -- and thus launches the Seven Deadly Sins Countdown to the launch of THE ROAD TO HELL!!! Woot!!! So what's this all about, you want to know? I will be giving away books -- not my own, heh -- for the next week!!!

Today's sin is...GLUTTONY. (Hey, Halloween candy rocks!)

Leave a comment about your FAVORITE sinful snack for a chance to win a copy of...

KRESLEY COLE'S A HUNGER LIKE NO OTHER.

Winner to be picked at random tomorrow morning.

Have at it! And remember: love your inner demon!

Meet the New Blog (Same As The Old Blog)

2007-07-20T11:10:00.000-04:00

Well, kids, it's official: I'm going to be merging Insert Witty Title Here with Cat and Muse -- and all posts from this point forward will be on my website's blog: www.jackiekessler.com/blog.

No worries: Jezebel will still be doing interviews there (and throwing in comments every now and then). And Melpomene still has her job too.

So...come on over. The water's fine.

(FYI, it's going to be a bit before I'm used to all the doohickies and whatnot in WordPress. I tried updating blog links and putting in categories, but that took the links off of my site. Huh. I'm SUCH a Luddite.)

Ooh. Shiny. PINK.

2007-07-15T10:34:00.001-04:00

Bound Galleys Are Here!!!

2007-07-13T08:36:00.001-04:00

EEEE! It's official: THE ROAD TO HELL is going to press! At least -- I got me my bound galleys/advance reading copies, so WOOOOOOOOOOOOT!!!

((happy dance!!!!!!))

Now if only I could figure out how to upload a freaking digital picture...grrr...

Updates -- Interview and Workshop and Novella, Oh My!

2007-07-12T08:47:00.000-04:00

Busy, busy, busy!

First: I was interviewed at The Rose & Thorn Literary Ezine! Yay! (And hooboy, it's time for a new author photo, methinks...)

Second: Today I'm doing a workshop over at Romance Divas on Book Signing 101! You need to register for the forum section, but that's free. Come on over -- there's (virtual) chocolate!

Third: I finished the novella from Hell -- the Hellvella? -- called A HELL OF A TIME. I'm letting it sit for about a week before I give it one final read through, and then it's off to my agent for his seal of approval, then on to my editor! It will appear in the April 2008 Kensington anthology called ETERNAL LOVER, along with novellas from Richelle Mead, Lynsay Sands, and Hannah Howell.

Feverishly working on updating the website (gasp, choke) and on the first steps of the upcoming Hit the ROAD campaign! I hope everyone's having a terrific summer.

Why Haven't I Been Blogging?

2007-07-07T06:32:00.000-04:00

Holy cats, air! Sweet, sweet air! ((gasp, wheeze))

TOP FIVE THINGS JACKIE'S BEEN DOING THAT HAVE BEEN KEEPING HER AWAY FROM BLOGGING:

5. Gearing up for the "Hit the ROAD" campaign for my sexy, funny, dark paranormal novel, THE ROAD TO HELL (November 6, 2007, Kensington/Zebra Books), second in the Hell on Earth series! (Yeah, yeah, I know, if you're reading my blog, you already know about ROAD. I'm practicing my off-the-cuff "So, what's THE ROAD TO HELL?" answer.) What's "Hit the ROAD," you ask? Stay tuned.

4. Writing the rough draft of A HELL OF A TIME, a Hell novella due to appear in the 2008 Kensington anthology (tentatively) called ETERNAL LOVER. In the novella, Jesse and Paul take a road trip to get away from real-life stress (which, for a former succubus, includes stress of the supernatural variety). Except supernatural stress has a way of following Jesse, bwahahahaha. Erm. Anyway. Finished the draft last night. Yay!!!

3. Working on a workshop (heh, that looks funny before I've had any coffee) for Romance Divas, on Booksigning 101, all about how to make the most of your public appearance. The workshop will go live on July 12.

2. Bumming over how I won't be at RWA Nationals this year. I would have had the chance to meet tons of fabulous authors, such as Colleen Gleason, Jaci Burton, and Cathy Clamp, as well as a number of editors. Alas. Next year in San Francisco! (No, really: next year, RWA Nationals will be in SF from July 30 - Aug 2...and Loving Husband and I are talking about taking a family trip out there for the whole week. Huzzah!

And...the No. 1 thing that's been keeping me away from blogging:

1. I've been catching up on my sleep. :)

B&N Joins the Crowd!

2007-07-05T08:11:00.000-04:00

It's official: THE ROAD TO HELL is available via pre-order at Barnes and Noble! Huzzah! Now you have your choice: you can pre-order via B&N, via Amazon, and Booksamillion!

Or...you can wait until November 6, 2007 and take part in the Hit the ROAD campaign! Yes, there will be a lot more about this in the weeks to come...

One Blog Or Two?

2007-06-30T08:36:00.001-04:00

So I'm seriously considering merging this blog with Jezzie's Cat and Muse blog on my website. I'm asking people to vote on whether I should keep the two blogs separate or if I should merge 'em. Let me know what you think -- leave a comment on the Cat and Muse site with your vote for A, B or C. (And I know there are going to be some D's...)

Eight Dream Things About Me!

2007-06-30T07:52:00.000-04:00

I was tagged by Tyhitia Green, a.k.a. Demon Hunter. And no, this has nothing to do with why I write about demons. Really.

Here are the rules: a. Each player lists 8 facts/habits about themselves.

b. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning before those facts/habits are listed.

c. At the end of the post, the player then tags 8 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

I thought it would be fun if I posted about eight interesting dream tidbits about moi.

1. This morning (between 5:30 and 7:30 am, really), I had a really fucked up dream that involved Loving Husband, Jackie's Mom, Tax Deduction the Elder (or possibly Younger), and William Shatner. And coffee. And my clothes.

Basically, Bill was our overnight guest, after giving a speech or summat before the dream started. It was the next morning. And I couldn't go downstairs to put up coffee or even be social (This! Is! Bill! Shatner!) because I couldn't find my clothes -- you see, Loving Husband moved all the drawer contents around, so now my clothes were missing. And I told him to put it back, and he said it was staying this way. And we got into a big fight over it, and my mom popped by to say that she liked it this way. And then Bill came upstairs, and I dashed into the bathroom to cover myself with a bra -- the only piece of clothing I could find was a bra that must have been one of Dolly Parton's castaways -- and Bill sends in Tax Deduction the Younger (or maybe Older; stupid dream) -- to ask about when I'm putting up coffee. And then Loving Husband and I get into a fight fight -- I mean, it came to blows. (Loving Husband and I don't do that IRL. And now it seems like it would be an appropriate time for an off-color joke about blows and whatnot, but I haven't even had any coffee yet, so that's not going to happen.)

And then I woke up all upset and weepy and went to hug Loving Husband. And the thing that upset me the most is I kept pronouncing it "caw-fee." Stupid dream.

2. I once had a naughty dream about Anthony Wiggle. Sad, sad, sad.

3. When I was a kid, my mom and I had the exact same dream -- and woke up from it at the exact same time. (No, I have no idea what it was. Ideas, anyone?)

4. Most Upsetting Dream: When I was about eight, I dreamed I was a boy who was about to drown in a tidal wave. (Isn't this a fun blog post?)

5. Person I Never Had a Naughty Dream About But Wish I Would: Matt Damon.

6. Person I Wished I Looked Like in a Dream: Me, but about 15 pounds thinner.

7. When I was pregnant with Tax Deduction the Elder, I had a dream that Loving Husband, TDTE and I were in a park or a meadow, with LH and I siting under a tree, and TDTE was maybe 18 months old, running around on chubby toddler legs and having a blast. The weird thing? It wasn't TDTE I dreamed about. It was Tax Deduction the Younger. More than two years before he was born.

8. Freddie Krueger has never appeared in my dreams. If he did, I'd kick his charbroiled ass into another realm. (Pays to write about demons.)

There you go, kids! Eight dream things about me. And now, I bestow the Eight Random Things Honor to...

Heather Brewer
Richelle Mead (I know Demon Hunter tagged you -- I don't care. I'm evil)
Caitlin Kittredge
Jaci Burton
Elaine Cunningham
Michelle Rowen
Michele Bardsley
Lila Dubois

Read This Book!

2007-06-12T09:59:00.000-04:00

Pimping time! This week's Book You Really Must Read Or Else is...

RISES THE NIGHT by Colleen Gleason

I've already commented on Amazon about why I loved this book. But it's worth repeating. Heck, I'll even elaborate -- we're all friends, right?

I usually don't read historicals, but I'm a big fan of the paranormal. And anything remotely Buffy-like will catch my interest. So I'd been interested in reading Colleen's first book in the Gardella series, THE REST FALLS AWAY -- especially after seeing her utterly kick-ass trailer on her website. I bought REST and devoured it. Loved it. The Buffy fan in me ate it up because it was both an enjoyable vampire-slayer story and refreshingly different from the Buffyverse while still being humorous and deliciously dark. The hard part was waiting for the next book.

Which brings me to the point of this post: as fabulous as REST was, RISES is even better. Absolutely, positively the next level book. A superb follow-up. Holy cats, I feel very, very bad for Victoria, the heroine. Colleen may write paranormal romance (according to the spine of the book), but she's a big believer in the urban fantasy adage that the protagonists must have Lots Of Bad Things Happen To Them. And I mean lots. What's more: Victoria's angst and emotional response is very believable, all the while being a heroine in every sense of the word: no sitting back and waiting to be rescued for this Lady.

And now I'm impatiently rolling my thumbs as I wait for the third book in the series.

So Colleen Gleason's RISES THE NIGHT is this week's Book You Really Must Read Or Else.

Holy Guacamole

2007-06-11T12:16:00.000-04:00

Jezebel blogged about the series finale to The Sopranos.

Me, I give it a 1. Best. Thing. Ever. (And Jezzie, shut up about Steve Perry. "Oh Sherry" was a thing of genius. Genius, I tell you!)

My Dinner With Michelle!

2007-06-05T08:53:00.000-04:00

This has NOTHING to do with the lovely Michelle Rowen's comment on my last post. Nothing at all, I tell you. So what that I have the memory of a sieve? So what that I've the attention span of a brain-dead flea? I absolutely meant to post about My Dinner With Michelle! And, yeah, if I had been thinking about it, I would have posted it yesterday with my uber-brief Backspace Conference post. But I didn't because...oh, because I suck. SORRY, MICHELLE!!! Mea culpa.

Hey, everyone, show Michelle how much we all love her by preordering a copy (or two) of her upcoming amazing book Fanged & Fabulous! (Yes, I can say with authority that it's amazing. Michelle sent me the ARC. Hah, perks of being an author! We get...READING material!)

So, on Friday night, Heather Brewer (author of the groundbreaking Eighth Grade Bites -- ditto on the preordering, kids!) and I met with the lovely, talented, sexy and sassy Michelle Rowen for dinner at Rosey O'Grady's in New York City. Heather and I hoofed it from the Algonquin (hotel of much evil) and braved the rain to get to the restaurant. And we were only two minutes late. We so rock, don't we, Heather?

Michelle is absolutely amazing -- she's gorgeous, funny, and rather wicked. Excellent traits all around! The three of us exchanged some promo goodies (Heather has lurvely new pins, and you absolutely want one), and then we kibbutzed. Schmoozed. Talked. Laughed evilly. Discussed plans to take over the world. Agreed that we should divide the world into three. (What, we didn't agree on that? Crap. More on the world division later.)

We had a ton of fun, even with a Scary Lady who served us and a questionable chicken and pasta dish that I sort of didn't eat. Hey, I got Coke-flavored rum to drink, so why complain? Michelle's got some terrific projects in the works, and a new book coming out from Shome (Shomi? Heck, I can't spell; I haven't even had a cup of coffee yet) that sounds terrific. We talked shop (you know, Grownup Authory Stuff) and goals (the fun, take over the world stuff) and absolutely no gossip (because we're all Grownupy).

After we'd gotten a lot of looks from Scary Lady (who actually started to count her tip while standing at the table -- dude, really, there's a fine line between scary and stupid), we opted to bring the fun back to Michelle's hotel (yes, she owns a hotel; cool, no?) and hang out in the bar and drink and eat cheese and crackers, and talk about...LOST. Yes, the television show that makes us wonder, What are the writers smoking and where can we get some? Good times all around.

The only complaint? I can't stay up as late as I used to! We wound up parting ways around 11 -- after hanging out for five hours. MICHELLE, move to New York!!!

I (heart) Michelle Rowen, who's much cuter than bunnies with fangs.

Monday Is, Therefore I Eat Chocolate

2007-06-04T12:19:00.000-04:00

I'm back from Backspace, and I'm thrilled to say I had a fabulous time. And that's despite the hotel being haunted. (Really. Ask me about showers with bleeding walls and mysterious bruises on arms and legs. And whatever you do, don't eat the bologna.) The panels I attended were interesting, and David Morrell gave a keynote address and then a spontaneous marketing workshop that alone were worth the price of admission. And, of course, it was terrific seeing Heather, Ty, EJ, Stella, Lynn, Kim, Eileen, Elsa, Mark, Marlys, Robin, Karen, Chris...and the entire Backspace crew. Good times, y'all. Make plans on going next year. Rilly rilly.

And I came home to some lovely reviews of Hell's Belles. (What? You HAVEN'T read it yet? Shame on you! Go buy two copies as penance, right now!)

Here's fellow author December Quinn's review. Me, I can't wait to read her upcoming Blood Will Tell.

And The Romance Studio gave Hell's Belles five hearts! Sweet! (Er, no, make that "explicit" -- hey, when you write about demons, the nookie can get a bit hot.)

Coming up: An interview with Roses & Thorns!

Off to watch Tax Deduction the Elder in his first kindergarten musical!

Off to the Algonquin!

2007-05-30T05:47:00.000-04:00

Well, it's finally here: Backspace 2007 begins tonight! Off to the Algonquin Hotel in NYC! Back late Saturday.

Be good while I'm gone. And if you're evil, don't get caught.

Toodles!

Argh

2007-05-26T23:20:00.001-04:00

So I don't know which is worse: having brain farts while writing the Hell novella that's due July 1, or Superman Returns.

Actually, yes, I do know which is worse. I can revise the novella, even start over if necessary.

But I'll never get those 2.5 hours of my life back. Holy crap, what a LONG movie.

Gawd, I hated that movie. (But Bam, yes, Brandon looked nice in blue.)

LOST -- I've Got It Figured Out

2007-05-24T10:43:00.001-04:00

So last night was the LOST season finale. I was less than impressed -- some things REALLY didn't work for me. But...after reading posts on Backspace and Absolute Write about the episode (what, you think writer forums are all about the writing?), I've come up with a theory.

Avast, here be spoilers. Read no more if you're gonna get all upset with me for mentioning something you didn't know.

Here's my theory: It's all in Desmond's mind. The Island, the Others, the Losties...everything. Desmond is told by Brother Campbell that he has a higher calling outside of the abbey. And Desmond caused the plane crash of Oceanic Flight 815 when he almost didn't input the code on time in the hatch. It's Desmond who is recognized by Naomi when she first parachutes onto the Island. He's the central figure. Penny is searching for Desmond. Desmond was the one who had to punch in the damned code -- to save the world. Desmond was the one who had a boat on and off the Island.

It's all about Desmond.

What's more, Desmond is the Merlin of the group; he sees the future. We already know he saw Charlie's future. What's to stop him from doing so with the others? (Or the Others, for that matter?) Perhaps Jack's flashforward was truly Desmond? If that's the case, then it's easy to speculate that Desmond could see the past as well -- the past of all the characters.

Why is he such a central force? I'm saying it's because everything from the very first episode has been in his head.

None of this is real -- except for Desmond himself.

I'm guessing that the last episode will show Desmond in an asylum (probably Hurley and Libby's asylum), and this was all a figment of his imagination, a la St. Elsewhere. It would explain all the connections between the Losties, all the impossible coincidences that bind them all together. Maybe Jack is his doctor there, which is why Jack himself is such a pivotal character.

That's my theory.

Whatcha think?

Daun and Jezzie at Bam's

2007-05-23T12:15:00.001-04:00

Party at Bam's site! Jezzie interviews Daun! Chance for a prize! Come check it out!

Interviewed!

2007-05-20T11:23:00.000-04:00

Check it out -- Dee at PNR interviewed li'l ol' me! (Well -- little, anyway. Thirty-six is still young. Ish.)

Thanks, Dee!

Of Spiders and Sex Talk

2007-05-18T20:42:00.000-04:00

So I was in NYC on Wednesday, both for the day job (had to get a new computer, plus meet with our designers) and for the In the Flesh erotic reading series that night. And I'm still alive! Squee!

I had to kill time between work and the reading, so I saw Spider-Man 3. Spiffy. Loved the fight scenes--oh, Sandman was way cool, and Venom was nice and terrifying. But I have some questions for those who would know (Meljean, you reading this?)

1. Didn't Gwen Stacy get tossed off a bridge by the Green Goblin and, like, die? Or was that strictly comic-book only?

2. Eddie Brock...a photographer? REALLY? Wasn't he in prison before the whole symbiote thing happened? (And was that really Topher Grace from That Seventies Show? Dude's grown up...)

3. Is Mary Jane ever going to get tired of being the perpetual DID (damsel in distress)? If there's a Spider-Man 4, do you think they'll morph her character with Felicia Whatshername and make her the Black Cat?

4. Why does Evil Peter have good hair and Good Peter have nerd hair? Why can't nerds have good hair?

5. Did anyone else want to slap MJ during the first third of the movie? Whine, whine, whine, why don't they love me? Why didn't I get a good review? Man, could you imagine if she were an author--she'd cry her redheaded heart out if Bam or Mrs Giggles read her work.

These are the questions that plague me.

So, the reading! I was very nervous when I got to the Happy Ending Lounge -- I didn't know what to expect, and God knows, I'm not a good public speaker. But I met a bunch of terrific people, plus my mom showed up with four friends.

Let me say that again. My mom, with four friends in tow, showed up to support me as I read my big ol' nookie scene from Hell's Belles. Aloud. In public. Does my mom kick ass, or what?

I was fifth in the lineup, out of six readers. So I had the chance to listen to most of the others before it was my turn -- and that helped a lot. Calmed me down. Gave me a chance to drink heavily. By the time I got called up, I was ready. And buzzed. And...I think it went well! I thanked my mom for being there (everyone applauded for her; how cool was that?), and then I launched into the scene. And I forgot to be nervous. Yay! Right after Jezzie climaxed, I stopped reading and said into the mike: "Having fun yet, Mom?" The entire place broke up, and I made Mom blush. Hee! (Love you, Ma!)

All in all, it was fabulous, and I hope I can do it again.

YO: Note to any erotica authors out there--or if you're an author with nookie scenes in your work: Rachel from In the Flesh is looking for more readers in her lineup! Please do contact her.

So I'm working on the novella, A HELL OF A TIME. Yay, me! And I just sent a new dark paranormal-romance proposal to my agent. We'll see what he says...

Doing a signing in Saratoga Springs tomorrow (Saturday) at 2 pm, at the Borders on Route 50. Wish me luck!

If You're In NYC...

2007-05-14T12:50:00.000-04:00

To all readers in the NYC area: I'll be doing a reading from HB as part of the In The Flesh erotica reading series at the Happy Ending Lounge (heh, appropriately named, no?) THIS WEDNESDAY (May 16), starting at 8 pm:

302 Broome St (Between Forsyth Street and Eldridge Street)
New York, NY 10002
Phone: (212) 334-9676

Directions:
B, D train to Grand St
J/M/Z to Bowery
F to Delancey

Admission: Free!

There will be six readers; I'm listed as No. 5. So even though the event begins at 8, I probably won't be on until around 9:30 pm. By then I should have had at least two glasses of wine, so I'll be too buzzed to be nervous about reading a nookie scene on stage. Gleep!

Happy Mother's Day!

2007-05-13T20:49:00.002-04:00

Yeah, I know, I promised to post RT pictures. And I will. I swear. But first...Mother's Day at Washington Park -- TULIPFEST!!!

See? Tulips!

(By the way, all photos are from our terrific friends, Lisa and Rob. THANKS, GUYS!)

And there were other flowers too.

White flowers...

...and yellowy-orange flowers...

...and orangey-yellow flowers...

...and redish-white flowers.

(What? I don't know, I guess they're all tulips. It was Tulipfest.)

And here there be dragons!

<-- Tax Deduction the Elder

<-- Tax Deduction the Younger

And here's all of us, me and the Kessler Crew, including Jackie's Mom in the funky orange hat, and Rob and Lisa with their two girls, Princess the Elder and Princess the Younger. (Yes, Lisa and I have set the date for a double wedding for the kids. Why do you ask?)

My boys are so fabulous. They brought home projects they made for me in school: a flower pot (painted), another flower pot (not painted, but filled with silk flowers), a homemade address book, beautiful homemade (okay, schoolmade) cards, and a photo in a homemade frame. And they gave me new fuzzy slippers. Loving Husband got me a satin bathrobe and a matching nightie. Woot! We all had a great time with my mom, who swears this was the best Mother's Day ever. (Of course, that could have been the wine talking...) We love you, mom!

I hope all moms out there had a lovely day today.

Completely unrelated: Just watched The Sopranos. Holy crap. I need me a stiff drink.

"And Then, Depression Set In"

2007-05-10T19:06:00.000-04:00

Man, for the past few days, I've been wandering around in a funk. Loving Husband thinks it's because I'm done (stick a fork in me) with revisions to Hotter Than Hell and sent the manuscript to my agent. This is it -- the last in the three-book contract. (It's also the best thing I've ever written. Eva. Seriously. Yeah, I know, I say that after I'm done with every book I write. This time, I mean it.)

Okay, yes, I have a contract for a Hell novella for a Kensington anthology, and I've begun that (thanks, Heather, Caitlin, and all the Write Ons). But once that's done (and that will probably be before the Backspace Conference in a few weeks)...then that's it.

Gulp.

Sure, I've got two projects on submission. And I have two more under way. But...it's not the same thing.

Loving Husband says that some authors get all maudlin and crap when they're done with a manuscript. I don't know, a sort of literary post-partum (partem? too lazy to look it up) depression, or something like that. Maybe that's what this is.

Meh.

So my dad called me today to say that he read The Road to Hell. Enjoyed it. Says he liked Hell's Belles better, but he thinks that's because that story was completely novel, and this one felt more familiar. He also said that he thinks the writing is better in The Road to Hell. And he said the book "is raunchy as hell." I told him he was supposed to skip those parts. He said that he skipped ahead to GET to those parts.

I'm scarred for life.

Romantic Times, Part The Third

2007-05-07T20:16:00.000-04:00

Long day today. Tax Deduction the Elder was home sick with bronchitis, but he was well enough to run an errand with Loving Husband this afternoon. Boom--car accident. They're both fine, thank God, as is the other driver. But the car? Intensive care, a la insurance. Ugh. Anyway.

Where was I with RT? I think I got as far as the awards luncheon. Did I mention the time that Richelle, Cathy and I went out to Mickey D's to discuss promotion (of our books, not of the Golden Arches), and then went to bond at Macy's and help Richelle get a new purse? Okay, I guess I did. Good. I won't mention it again.

So. Friday afternoon, more panels. More drinks. (Just not during the panels.) Found out lots of stuff about the YA urban fantasy market, thanks to MaryJanice (I am SUCH a fangirl), Gena Showalter (who is so freaking cute and adorable and has written something like 30 books all before she turned 25 that if I didn't love her so much I'd hate her) and Marianne Mancusi, who was really smart and funny and I'm insanely jealous of her too. I asked why Mary used her MaryJanice "I Write Books With Vampires Having Sex Upside Down In The Deep End of the Pool" Davidson name for her YA stuff, and she told us that, apparently, the name "MaryJanice Davidson" is marketable. Who'da thunk it? By the way, for my next book, I'm using the pen name Mary Janice Davidson. (What? It's not her name. Mine would have a space between "Mary" and "Janice.")

And then I was all paneled out. Which is good, because Friday night I went out with Rachel Caine and her husband Cat, Richelle and her husband Michael, and Media Blvd Magazine reporter Christina. (Yes, I was Christina's husband for the dinner.) I learned all about Rachel's spiffy scar (it's quite the story) and had quite a terrific time. (Crap -- did the dinner happen on Thursday night instead of Friday night? Oh, what the hell do I know? I don't blog in real time. Well, at one point, we all went out to a Mexican restaurant for dinner. Pick a day.)

I called home around 7 pm local time. Tax Deduction the Younger said to me, "Mom, I miss you. When you come over?" And I said, "I'll be home in two nights, pumpkin." And he said, "That takes forever." Ripped my heart right out of my chest. I love my boys. Sigh. I told him I loved him and his brother and I'd be home soon.

Sometimes, it's really hard being a mom and being an author.

Back at the ranch (what? It was Texas; I'm allowed to say that) it was time for...Heather Graham's Vampires of the Wild, Wild West dinner/music theater shindig. We wound up sitting way the hell up front, and I got a prime spot to watch the amazing Alexandra Sokoloff (have you read her fabulous horror novel, The Harrowing? No? Stop what you're doing RIGHT NOW and go buy it. Go on, I'll wait...) dress up like a vampire saloon gal called Sacajawea (don't ask). And best of all: ALEX SANG. Hell, they ALL sang, but I know Alex personally from Backspace. AND SHE'S A GREAT SINGER! Of course, I was quite depressed -- apparently, to be an author these days, it's not enough to have a book trailer. Now you also need a music video. I'm freaking doomed.

Then there was the hotel bar. And drinking. And planning to take over the world. Wait, that last may have only been in my mind. Dunno. Anyway.

Saturday. THE BOOK FAIR, bwahahah! But before the evil laugher was...breakfast. Me, Richelle and Lila ate overpriced eggs, which we totally justified as fortifying ourselves for the madness that was to ensue. So, about $25 later (hey, I had two eggs, lay off), we refilled stock at Promotion Lane and grabbed some of it for the fair...and then went to our assigned stations at the Room That Housed Many Authors And Books. Holy crow (yes, this is a blatant plug for Jeri Smith-Ready and her Eyes of Crow), it was CRAZINESS. And I don't do crazy; I gave all that up when I moved out of Brooklyn. But I toughened up, set up my station, got yelled at for having a huge Hell's Belles sign in the aisle, was attended to by the fabulous Jessica and the Yahoos (THEY GAVE ME CHOCOLATE-COVERED STRAWBERRIES. THEY SO ROCK), and set up all my swag, which consisted of:

Bookmarks
Pens
Post-It Note pads
ROAD cover flats

And 25 copies of Hell's Belles. TWENTY-FIVE COPIES? Eek! How the hell was I going to convince 25 people to buy my book? Barring stuffing each with a twenty-dollar bill, I was clueless...until I decided to not be daunted by the scary-big line of readers hovering by Charlaine Harris's table and instead started offering post-it note pads to basically everyone who walked by. And then striking up a conversation. And mentioning my fabtabulous raffle basket, which would be given away at 1 pm and which included a signed copy of Hell's Belles. And launching into my description of the book ("It's about a succubus who runs away from Hell, hides on Earth as an exotic dancer, and learns the hard way about true love. Sex, strippers, demons -- what's not to like?").

And wouldn't you know it -- I sold out.

(I also sold out this past Saturday at a booksigning near my home. To complete strangers. I'm seriously stoked.)

After the insanity that was the book fair, Richelle, Michael and I went out to an Italian Restaurant for the best-tasting meal I had in Houston. At 7 pm was MaryJanice's party in her suite, where she gave out tons of swag (I won a Sleeping With the Fishes tee shirt AND the UK version of the book--what a cool cover!) and about 40 of us ate pizza and schmoozed. Good times were had by all. I got to my room around 11 pm, where I proceeded to pack (read: stuff all my stuff into a suitcase and all my promo things into a box. Came with 7 boxes; left with 1. Either lots of people loved my swag, or all my stuff is rotting in a dumpster somewhere in Texas. Heart-shaped stressballs, decorating Southern landfills. Nah).

Sunday was all about breakfast with Cathy, getting my last box shipped home, getting a ride to the airport (Ter, I owe you one), hanging out near the gate with Jeanne, and then...going home. I walked in around 9 pm, and I ran upstairs to give my boys kisses even though they'd be fast asleep...only to find they'd been waiting up for me. They ran out of their beds and jumped on me and pelted me with kisses and hugged me.

I love my boys.

Before he went to sleep, Tax Deduction the Elder said, "Mom, you're not going away ever again, right?"

And I said, "Not for a long time, honey." And I cancelled my RWA national convention trip that very night. Leaving for five full days once a year is enough.

It's good to be home.

NEXT: RT photos

Romantic Times, Part Deux

2007-05-06T11:08:00.000-04:00

Yes, I know, bad blogger. It's been a week, and I haven't posted part 2 of my RT trip, let alone post pictures. Well, I still haven't gotten the photos developed yet (ugh, sorry), but I promise to post those as soon as I get them.

Couple things first: One, I have a new Hell's Belles contest going on at Cat and Muse -- and it's not my Hell's Belles! For a chance to win one of three fabulous clutch purses or pocketbooks from the amazing Hell's Belles Finishing School for Girls, check out the post titled "Back in School" and leave a comment for a chance to win. The contest is going on now through FATHER'S DAY (June 17), 7:59 pm EDT, so there's plenty of time to leave a comment. Or two. Tell your friends. Go on, leave a comment. All the cool kids are doing it. First one's free.

Second, I'll have a new interview going live on Cat and Muse later today -- the uber-talented Colleen Gleason (author of The Rest Falls Away and Rises the Night) allowed Jezebel to interview Victoria Gardella, intrepid heroine of her wonderful dark paranormal series. Victoria is still blushing. Check Cat and Muse later today; it's a great interview. And if you haven't read The Rest Falls Away yet, you're missing out on an amazing read. And the sequel? Even better. (Yeah, I read the ARC. Being an author has its privileges. I read cool books before they're available. God, I love my job.)

And now...Romantic Times, Part Deux. Otherwise known as Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Friday was a whirlwind. MaryJanice Davidson had invited me to co-host a Cinnamon Buns Mixer with her and Michele Bardsley (it took me all of two seconds to think it through before I squeed out a YES!!!), so I had to meet Jessica Growette -- Mary's fabulous publicist, promotions expert and all-around terrific person -- at something ungodly like 8 am. (I make that sound like a hardship. Meanwhile, I was getting up at 6 am every morning so that I could call home and speak to my Precious Little Tax Deductions before they went to school. Loving Husband, too, but let's face it: I wouldn't have set my alarm to call him. I love him more than anything...but voluntarily losing sleep? Nah, that's reserved for the kids. AND BOYS: Remember, Mommy wants a DELUXE apartment in the retirement community you dump her in when she's old and decrepit. Cabin Boy optional.)

Right, so I met Jessica in the fabled Window Box Room Area Place (or whatever it was called). Of course, everything was already set up by then, because Jessica is touched by God and magicked it all up in record time. Plus a whole bunch of the Yahoos -- Mary's fans, on her Yahoo Group, and a nicer, funnier bunch of people you'll never meet) were there to help. And bwahahahaha, I got to call Richelle at 8:15 am to remind her to come to the event. I GOT TO WAKE UP RICHELLE AND NOT FEEL BAD ABOUT IT! (Actually, she was already awake. But the story sounds better without that part.) ANYWAY. So, Mary and Tony were there and Michele was there, and Jessica made sure we all had about a zillion assorted pens for signing. Our swag was there. Our gift baskets for prizes were there.

Er, gift baskets?

Uh oh.

Yeah, I had the two big prize baskets for my portion of the giveaways...but the prizes for second and third places? OOPS. CRAP, I KNEW I'd forgotten something in New York...So there you have it: Jackie Kessler, handing out an IOU A SIGNED COPY OF HELL'S BELLES at the breakfast. DUH. Whoever said that authors are organized obviously never met me. And hey, as luck (skill? bribery?) would have it, the person who won second prize was none other than Ter from the Yahoos -- who ALREADY had HB. So she's like, "What do I get, Kessler?" And I'm like, "My undying gratitude?" Which she happily accepted...along with a promise of an ARC of THE ROAD TO HELL (in July or August, from what I hear). Actually, Ter is now on my auto-ARC list. Yes, there is such a thing. Yes, you, too, can get on my auto-ARC list. A good way to start? Chocolate. Lots of it. (I'm kidding. Sort of.)

When the doors opened at 8:30 (ish), WHOOM, everyone zoomed in to see Mary, Tony and Michele. Me, I got to sip my coffee and grin at the whole thing, thinking, "One day, I'll be a grown up author too! Yay! I like this life!" And I got to meet lovely people from Backspace (Hi, Renee!) and the inimitable Lila Dubois (Hi, Lila!) and many book reviewers (Danny Firedragon from Love Romances & More brought me CHOCOLATE! From Germany! The whole auto-ARC thing? You KNOW Danny's on the list!) and Debi Murray (HAH, see, Debi? I finally got it RIGHT) from Charlaine Harris's Charlatans and wow, many more people. I signed bags and bookmarks, and I talked, and I had a terrific time. And Mary, who's so freaking nice that it makes my head spin, is very tall, and I am very short. She could use my head as an elbow rest. I wouldn't mind. She's MaryJanice Davidson! Use me! Use me!

And then it was over, and I zoomed up to the Urban Fantasy Panel at 10 am. Picture this: a looooong table, with headlining, bestselling authors seated in a row, including Rachel Caine, Charlaine Harris, Jim Butcher...zillions more. It felt that way, anyway. Agent Miriam Kriss was there too. I ran up, took a picture of the panelists, and told Rachel that I felt like the biggest fan girl ever. Great panel. I asked them, "If, in paranormal romance, you know there's going to be a happily ever after, what do you know is going to happen in urban fantasy?" And the answer was, "Bad things will happen." Heh, yeah, that's about right.

Now it's 11 am, and it's time for Kensington's I Break For Romance signing! I run down to the second floor, see roughly a hundred people swarming in a space that could seat five comfortably. And I see Richelle, with a stack of Succubus Blues novels in her arms, looking shell-shocked, and she says to me, "You want to see the woman in the brown coat." So I find the woman in the brown coat (who must be related to the man in the yellow hat), and she pumps my hand and says she's thrilled to meet me...and dumps a stack of Hell's Belles novels into my arms and tells me to find a seat. I wedge between Richelle and Jacki Frank (author of Jacob and Gideon in The Nightwalkers series), and lo! There were readers, eager to get a free signed copy. Squee! Of course, I was a goober and signed in a blue ballpoint pen. I think I was supposed to sign in black. Oops. Well, I write about demons. I'm supposed to break the natural law and shit like that. I SIGNED IN BLUE, BABY. I'm a rebel! And, um, I was also quietly plugging Succubus Blues! Yeah, that was it!

[I just paused to check my email. And once again, some chick posted a spam comment on my MySpace page. ARGH.]

After the insanity that was the Kensington signing came the little piece of Hell called...Club RT. Picture, if you will, a small room lined with gift baskets and raffle tickets and vendors selling jewelry and scarves and stuff like that and RT staffers and, oh, about a zillion people. It was a choice of having an anxiety attack on the spot or grinning and going with the flow. Tough call, but I grinned. And soon I was sitting with Richelle, Lila, Jacki, Bianca D'Arc, and the Price sisters, Stella and Audra. And we raffled away lovely jewelry in conjunction with our novels. We were the Dragons, Demons and Demigods section. And I think the Club RT staffers feared us. It was fun. The wonderful Elle won a Shield Against Evil. Enjoy, Elle!

Then there was the RT Awards Ceremony. I only saw part of it -- long enough to see Backspacer Jenny Gardiner win the Dorchester American Title contest for her novel, Sleeping With Ward Cleaver -- GO, JENNY!!! Couldn't stay too long because I had a meeting (we authors do things like Meet and Talk and Drink) scheduled at the same time. But all was good -- Jacki Frank won the RT award for best paranormal romance 2006 for Jacob. Congrats, Jacki!

Wow, I haven't even gotten to Friday afternoon yet. Long-assed post. I'll write more later (RT: Part Trois -- this time, it's not about the sex) -- because man, I haven't even gotten to the part where Alexandra Sokoloff sings on stage or the fabled Book Fair. Stay tuned. (And I'll update the links and whatnot later also. Promise!)

Gimme an R! Gimme a T!

2007-04-30T13:29:00.000-04:00

And then...there was Romantic Times.

Okay, you have to understand that I'm terrified of these things. I'm a shy person. I'm happy to curl up with a book, hang out by myself, pet my cats. Meeting people, in public -- hell, speaking in public -- can make me so nervous that I practically vomit on my shoes. The day before RT, I was so freaked out that I cried to Loving Husband. Me, leave him with the Tax Deductions? For five days? With only his parents to help? Eek! I was a bad, bad wife and mom. I was putting my writing before my family. I was selfish.

I was off the deep end. He practically kicked me onto the plane.

"You know there's a Mr. Romance contest," I said, desperate. "I'll be ogling mostly naked men."

"Have fun," said Loving Husband. "And remember to bring singles."

Off I went to the airport, horribly nervous that the seven (SEVEN) boxes of promotional items I'd shipped (on Monday -- for a total of $616. Have I mentioned that my basement flooded the week before? I was slightly distracted) hadn't arrived, that the airline would lose my luggage, that God would decide it was time for me to meet my Maker and do something whimsical like zap the plane with lightning and sear off a wing. Waiting on line at security at the airport hadn't helped; I'd been singled out to go into the Puffer Room, where a puff of air blasted me for 15 seconds, teasing my hair to 1980s Aqua Net proportions. (I asked what the purpose was after they were done with the uber blow dry. They said that if I'd handled explosives in the past three days, they'd know.) This was after they stopped my carry ons to rummage through them. Apparently, I look like a terrorist.

Finally, I got on the plane. Zipped to Philly, no problem. An hour later, I was on the plane headed for Houston. We taxied out. Ninety minutes later, we actually took off. Hit turbulence along the way. The whole fear about God being whimsical? Dude, forget whimsical; I thought God was being downright sadistic. There are no atheists in foxholes, or in airplanes cutting through turbulence. Where's the barf bag?

And then, Houston. I get my suitcase with no problems. I grab a taxi to the hotel. Fifty-four dollars (yes, really) later, I'm signing in, getting my keycard, requesting that a bellhop bring up all seven boxes of Shtuff, which had all arrived safely. I ride up in an elevator cab that's not possessed (one of the elevators there, every once in a while, would stop on every floor and also ignore all the floors people pressed to have the elevator stop there. Between that and the way the glass elevators looked out over the hotel in stomach-churning glory, I'm convinced someone died in the car and is haunting it) and get to my room. Quick unpacking; then my boxes arrive. More unpacking. The large room now looks like a card store vomited all over it.

Wednesday afternoon was all about me setting up my basket of goodies in Promo Lane (Swag Alley) -- my Love Your Inner Demon post-it notes, pens, stressballs, bookmarks, and business cards, all piled up in a spiffy container, with a foam-backed self-standing board that was a beautiful shot of the Hell's Belles cover standing behind it. Let me tell you, when 300 authors are at a convention, there's LOTS of promo stuff out. LOTS. Hand to stand out. I think next year, I'll hire a Chippendale's Dancer to stand in Promo Lane and hand out chocolate. Eye candy, don't you know.

I also attended some panels on Wednesday, got acquainted with the hotel bar, met my roommate (one of the MaryJanice Yahoos -- hi, Wendy!), opted out of the Tex-Mex dinner to eat at the hotel restaurant, attended a "Moulin Rouge" dance hosted by Ellora's Cave, and got reacquainted with the hotel bar. I also hooked up with Richelle Mead and her husband Michael, with Terri and Jose (more MJ Yahoos -- and uber fabulous people), with Christina Radish from Media Blvd Magazine (hi, Christina!), and met tons of other authors and readers. When I finally get my photos developed (yeah, developed; I didn't have my digital camera. Stop that laughing, damn it) I'll probably remember more about that night. Have I mentioned the hotel bar yet?

Crawled into bed around, um, 12ish. Got up at 6 the next day to call home and speak to the Boys. So far, so good; my sons didn't hate me (yet) for leaving, my husband was still coping, and all was well with the world. Huzzah. Then I showered...and discovered that my disposable razor was missing its disposable razor blade. Looked like airport security had opted to remove such a dangerous weapon. You'd think they would have taken the box cutter I'd packed in my suitcase. Guess they left it because it was a purty blue. Who knows? See the whole God is whimsical thing above.

Richelle told me the night before that she was meeting Charlaine Harris for breakfast...and so was I. EEK! Me? Meet The Charlaine Harris? But...she's a Famous Author! I'd sound like a goober! Richelle pffted my fangirl fears and threatened me with bodily harm if I weren't in the hotel lobby at 8 am. Now, for Richelle to be anywhere at 8 am, you know it's serious. So I didn't mess around: I made it there on time. Along with Richelle, I met Jeanne Stein (a fabulous author and terrific person), two wonderful booksellers whose names I'm totally blanking on, eek, and, of course, Charlaine Harris. (I may have met Debi Murray then, too, but it's all sort of blurring. Did I miss anyone? Eek...) Richelle introduced us, and as I shook Charlaine's hand, I said to her that I feel like I should be bowing. I wound up sitting next to her at breakfast...and had a marvelous time. I didn't vomit, or anything! She's a fabulous person. I'm so going out to buy her Grave series.

I went to a 10 am panel on something I don't remember, then ran upstairs to get the Bookseller Basket I'd made (to be raffled off to a bookseller, natch) and dropped it off. (Those seven boxes of shwag? One was just baskets. That's probably a store somewhere: Just Baskets.) Then I hung out with Jose for a bit by the bar (dude, do I sound like an author yet?), and then I met my agent at 11:30 to discuss Very Important Things About My Career.

Okay, the wheres, whens, and whos are getting jumbled (note to self: BLOG MORE IN REAL TIME, damn it), but off the top of my head, here are some of the authors I met, hung out with, and basically made an idiot of my self with:

Jim Butcher and Shannon Butcher: Shannon is a new romance author, whose novel No Regrets is on my TBR pile. Jim, her husband, has dabbled with writing about some wizard named Harry. (No, the other wizard named Harry.) They're very nice people. I think I scared Jim on Saturday when, after he told me he'd liked Hell's Belles, I said I'd be sending him an ARC of Road. Then I qualified it with "I'm not looking for a blurb, it's just for you to read." Then he breathed a sigh of relief. You'd think he gets hit up for a lot of blurbs or something...

Rachel Caine: Dude, she is so freaking cool that there aren't enough words to explain just how cool she is. Ditto for her husband. Richelle, Michael, Christina and I went out to dinner with them -- a Mexican restaurant, where I thought I was getting tacos and wound up getting something vaguely taco-like -- and we had a terrific time. I already thought Rachel was touched by God based on her amazing Weather Wardens series. Now I absolutely have to get the YA vampire series too. Damn it, why couldn't these authors be NOT so nice? Then I wouldn't be going to the poorhouse. "Sorry," I'll tell my Tax Deductions, "you can't go to college. Rachel Caine's too nice, so I had to buy all her books, and now I'm broke and you're SOL." I'm sure they'll understand...

Cathy Clamp: She's the co-author of the amazing Sazi and Thrall series (er, serieses?) from Tor Romance (along with C.T. Adams). Cathy's also blurbed Hell's Belles -- THANKS, CATHY -- and I'm thrilled that the same blurb will appear on the back of The Road to Hell (in the "Praise for Hell's Belles" section). She joined me and Richelle for lunch at Mickey D's (hey, we authors eat in style), and she shared marketing/promotion tips that were seriously brilliant.

MaryJanice Davidson and Anthony Alongi: MaryJanice is one of the most giving, sharing authors I've met. Along with being very supportive, she's told me a lot about the business, and how far she's come in JUST THREE YEARS. Yoikes. She's also hysterically funny. Which helps, when you want to write about snarky vampire queens and disgruntled mermaids. Tony is charming, smart, and just as sharing about the writing process as MaryJanice. I had a terrific time with them, both at the Breakfast Bash on Friday (which MaryJanice invited me to co-host with her and the lovely and talented Michele Bardsley) and at a party on Saturday night.

Okay, there are more, TONS more. But I digress.

Thursday afternoon, I did a panel with Richelle and four other authors on how paranormal can be in any genre. How did I get on the panel? I'm an opportunistic whore. I heard two days before RT that Christine Feehan wouldn't be able to make the convention. I'd known that she was supposed to be on Richelle's panel. So I threw myself at the feet of the gods of RT (in this case, the amazing Cheyenne McCray) and begged to be Not-Christine on the panel. She said, "Sure!" And then Richelle had to strongarm me onto the actual panel when it was time, because I suddenly remembered that I'm actually terrified about speaking in public. So I did the panel...and it went well. Two people told me after the panel that they really liked what I had to say. DUDE! They listened! Cool! (Hi, Lynda and Julie -- I'll get your checks out this week.)

That night was The Fairy Ball. All I can say is WOW, people really go all out on their costumes for this shindig! Me, I wore my devil horns. (Yes, I wore more than that too. Get your mind out of the gutter.)

Okay, I'm exhausted, and there's still Friday and Saturday to babble about. That will be Part Two. Good night!

News of All Sorts

2007-04-11T21:07:00.000-04:00

Huzzah!

First of all, Passover's done, and I'm all about the bread. PIZZA, DUDE. PIZZA.

Second -- I'm thrilled to announce that I have won the CTRR (Coffee Time Reviewer Recommend) Award for April 2007! Here's the review. (Mmmm. Coffee!)

Third -- I FINISHED THE DRAFT OF HOTTER THAN HELL! It's off to my crit partner and to beta readers. Woo hoo! DONE, BABY, DONE!

Holy cats, think of all the free time I'll have to read blogs and WRITE blog post and update my website and prepare for the Romantic Times Convention and...

Wow. The possibilities are endless.

Huzzah!

Matzoh-oh-oh, Matzah-ah-ah, That's All I Ever Say To You

2007-04-02T20:42:00.000-04:00

So I couldn't find the sedar plate.

For those not of The Tribe, tonight is the first night of Passover, and there's a special meal we have called a sedar (or maybe "seder"), and for this special meal there are special foods, and for these special foods we have, say it with me, a special plate. But I couldn't find the damn plate.

Last year, I knew exactly where it was: in the middle drawer of the breakfront we got from my grandmother. Tucked on top of it were the beautiful matzoh covers (matzoh, for the uninitiated, is unleavened bread. The "bread of affliction," according to the hype. Damn straight. Horrid stuff) that I purchased from a synagogue two years ago, back when I had visions of kreplech dancing in front of my eyes and thought that would be the year we finally joined a synagogue and had a go at the ritual of religion thing. (Yeah, that turned out well. Note the sarcasm. Next.) Point is, last year, I knew where the sedar plate was.

This year? Gone. Like magic.

Now granted, we moved a year ago from Upstate New York to Mid-Upstate New York (read: 40 minutes south of the previous residence), and we haven't exactly unpacked everything. That being said, I was sure we'd put away all the fine china. (And matzoh covers.) I, obviously, thought wrong.

So this year, we did something a little different. Loving Husband and I set aside the ritual of Passover and made room for the spirit of Passover. After the kids were home from school, Loving Husband helped them make their own sedar plates, a la Chinet and Crayola while I whipped up the items for the plates and put together the holiday meal. Beautiful plates, too, as you can see.

Here are the three plates, along with Tax Deduction the Elder, Tax Deduction the Younger, and Elmo (shortened, as we understand it, from Elmowitz). The center plate is what Loving Husband created. There's a picture of an egg (for the egg); an apple, a walnut and wine for the charoset; a sheep for the shank bone (on the plate, we wrapped a baby carrot in aluminum foil and used our imaginations); a piece of matzoh; a horse and a radish for the bitter herbs, and a sprig of parsley.

So the Precious Little Tax Deductions, with some guidance from Loving Husband, saved Passover in the Kessler house this year. Good thing, too, because the kosher-for-Passover stuffing? Yuck. And as Tax Deduction the Elder proudly exclaimed to my mom, Passover is when for eight days, all you drink is grape juice and wine.

L'chiam, y'all.

An Interview and (Gasp) News

2007-03-29T18:51:00.000-04:00

Hey there -- I'm sticking my head up from HOTTER THAN HELL writing to say that the lovely folks at Midnight Moon Cafe interviewed me today--please come check it out! And you'll have a chance to win a copy of HELL'S BELLES!

And now, some news. More than seven months before launch, THE ROAD TO HELL is available for pre-order on Amazon! And...dude, some people have already pre-ordered copies! Whoever you are who ordered...thank you!

Battle-frakking-star Galactica!

2007-03-25T23:20:00.000-04:00

Nine months?

I have to wait NINE FRAKKING MONTHS for the next (and, cough, maybe final) season of BATTLESTAR GALACTICA?

Nooooooooooo!

::mopes::

Seriously. Unfair.

Fine, I'm Really Not Checking Anymore

2007-03-24T07:07:00.000-04:00

I know, Bad Jackie. Ignoring your blogging responsibilities. No cookie for you.

Allison Winn Scotch, fellow Backspacer and author of the upcoming The Department of Lost and Found (Morrow, May 2007), posted about a very interesting article in The Wall Street Journal. Here's the gist:

Many authors obsess about their online book-sales rankings. (Well, duh.)
Web stores rank millions of book -- why not, when there's no shelf space to contend with?
These rankings, updated hourly, are featured on the book's individual page and on the online store's bestseller lists.
An email sales campaign can inflate a book's online ranking--temporarily--from the hundreds of thousands to single digits.
On Amazon, new and used book sales are counted equally.
Chances are, your book isn't getting multiple sales per day (unless you're in the 1% or so of sales) -- and a day without a sale can plummet a book from being ranked 10,000 to 50,000.

Okay. So this means exactly what other authors have been trying to get through my thick head for months: stop obsessing over Amazon sales. (And let's not even discuss Ingram's numbers.) So no more checking (compulsively) for me. It doesn't matter that as of this moment, Hell's Belles on Amazon is ranked #5,609. It could be that more than one person is buying the book every day...or it could mean that the same book or two are getting sold used and resold every day. It's all hocus pocus. The only thing that matters is my royalty statement. (Whenever I get it, that is. Note to self: check contract.)

But, that being said, the article also offered this nugget:

Publishers consider rankings from Nielsen BookScan, the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal...and Amazon (among others) as "an indicator of future sales potential for authors."

:: headdesk ::

Back to checking obsessively...

Holy Expenses, Batman...

2007-03-14T19:27:00.000-04:00

If it's tax season, does that mean we can shoot an accountant?

Official Tally, 2006 Writing Expenses

Postage/supplies: $583.55
Promotion (Hell's Belles): $1,588.02
Books bought (not Hell's Belles): $706.16
Publications/subscriptions: $701.60
Memberships/Conferences/Travel: $2,357.26
____________________________________

Total Writing Expenses, * 2006:
$5,936.59

* That is, from the receipts I could actually find...

Sleepless in Seattle!

2007-03-12T12:45:00.000-04:00

This weekend, I was in Seattle for Richelle's launch party for Succubus Blues. I had a terrific time with her and Caitlin. I loved being a tourist and checking out a city I knew nothing about (barring some movies and television shows, of course...), and Richelle and Caitlin were terrific guides.

We went all over the place (apparently, the Cool Part of Seattle, according to Richelle), spent a lot of time at a terrific market, saw flying fish (no, really), bought stuff (ooh, earrings...comic books...dragons for my Tax Deductions...)

(See, look, it says "Farmers Market" -- that's proof we were there.)

And we walked by the Original Starbucks, complete with Naked Mermaid Boobies and a split tail and about a zillion people who were lined up to get coffee there (as opposed to the other coffee joints that were a block away...must be the Naked Mermaid Boobies...)

We saw the Space Needle...

...and a possessed fountain...

...and robots fighting each other in a blaze of gears and sparks. Dang, people got REALLY worked up over this. Loving Husband says there's a show about this event. News to me. (Then again, I don't get out much.)

And then, there was Richelle's party! Lots of fun -- met many cool people, schmoozed, drank (both booze and coffee; but DANG, I was tired -- I'd gotten up at 3:30 that morning (12:30 am, Seattle time) to hop on a flight to get to Seattle by 11:30 am), and we spent all afternoon hiking around Seattle, including walking some blocks that would have given San Fransisco a run for its money on steep streets. (Freaking West Coast cities...) I had to turn into a pumpkin by 1 am -- I'd been up for about 25 hours straight by that point, and I was a zombie. (And no, the Evil Green Chopped Up Girl Scouts drink that Richelle had given me had NOTHING to do with it...)

Got up at 9:30 the next morning to pack and catch my flight back to Albany. And promptly got booted off the flight, due to overselling. So United put me on a plane to Chicago -- first class, y'all -- and then a plane to Albany -- again with the I'm So Special First Class -- and gave me a voucher for a free economy-class round-trip ticket to anywhere in the continental USA. Let's hear it for overbooking flights! Granted, I got home at 1:30 this morning. But hey...it was worth it!

(That's me, Richelle, and Caitlin, the morning after, sans makeup, contacts, etcetera...)

The Funniest Freaking Cartoon. Ever.

2007-03-09T20:02:00.000-05:00

Especially if you're a writer, you're going to love The Adventures of Comma Boy. Brought to you by the sick puppy who'd once penned Hell Toupee.

Shaking Things Up

2007-03-08T20:11:00.000-05:00

I've got to shake things up. Yes, I'm taking a spontaneous trip to Seattle to visit Richelle and Caitlin on Saturday (I'll be at the airport at 5 am, and I'll arrive On The Other Side around 11:30 am after traveling for something like 12 hours-- it's a whole new math), and I'll be visiting Heather in August -- and I'm thrilled about both trips. But I've got to shake things up.

This means one thing.

No, not dyeing my hair.

I need me a new blog skin.

Meanwhile, as I ponder a whole new look without having to diet, a couple people asked what on Earth I've spent my tax-dollars on in terms of promotion. In no particular order...

Author Buzz. This got the word out on Hell's Belles to 330,000 readers, 10,000 librarians, and 3,000 book sellers. Did it work? Do I know?

Phone thongs. I blame Brian for this. :-)

Business cards. In case I forget who I am.

Red pens. My spiffy Hell's Belles pens. To, you know, sign things.

Post-It notes. With a big ol' "The Hell you say!" on the top. Heh.

More phone thongs. Hey, they were popular...

Other stuff too, like my web design, Internet cost, etc., which I haven't included.

Oh, and more than $500 on postage and supplies. (Mailing out ARCs and free copies of Hell's Belles? Not cheap!)

Money may flow to the author, but dang it all if it doesn't flow right the hell back out again...

Off to find a new look for my blog...

Go, Go, Succubus Diva!

2007-03-06T22:22:00.000-05:00

Three cheers for RICHELLE MEAD! Today's officially Launch Day for SUCCUBUS BLUES! This is a wonderful book -- funny and bittersweet, fiendishly clever, and very well-written -- and I strongly recommend it to everyone. Ever.

I'll be visiting Richelle this weekend (Seattle, baby!) and I can't wait to finally meet her!

Huzzah, Martha O'Connor!

2007-03-05T11:03:00.000-05:00

Martha is not only a fellow Backspace poster; she's the author of one of my favorite novels, The Bitch Posse. Fabulous, fabulous, fabulous -- should be required reading. Truly magnificent.

So I'm thrilled to post the following deal, which appeared in Publisher's Marketplace:

Martha O'Connor's TINK, a reimagining of Tinkerbell from Peter Pan as a fierce Gaelic faerie born as a changeling to a band of 19th-century gypsies, to Peternelle van Arsdale at Putnam, in a pre-empt, for publication in late 2008 or early 2009, by Mary Evans at Mary Evans (NA).

CONGRATULATIONS, MARTHA!!!

I Spent How Much?

2007-03-05T08:58:00.000-05:00

Tax time, kids. Going over all my expenses from 2006. So far...

POSTAGE AND MAILING SUPPLIES: $517.58

BOOKS (not mine, sheesh):$706.16

PROMOTION FOR HELL'S BELLES (not including conferences): $1,588.02

Sigh, the life of a struggling debut author... :-)

He's Evil.

2007-03-02T23:53:00.000-05:00

I'm referring to my Loving Husband. He's evil. Truly.

Okay, you have to understand that the only thing I hate worse than unloading a dishwasher is putting away my clothes. (Well, and doing my taxes.) So I've had four piles of clean clothes in baskets next to my bed for oh, um, a while.

Tomorrow, we're going to The City (come on, I'm originally from Brooklyn; there's only one City in the whole world) to visit relatives. So we need to pack. And based on what's in my drawer, I'm out of socks. I know the Tax Deductions need to have their pants washed, so I pull together a load of laundry -- mostly kid stuff, plus two days' worth of socks for me. Loving Husband brings down the pile of clothing and loads the washer. (Isn't he wonderful? He does dishes, too. But he doesn't do Windows.)

An hour later, I go downstairs to load the drier. And don't you know, LH had taken my socks out to put them in the whites pile. The Dirty Whites Pile. So my socks? Not clean. And it's too late to run another load, because no way will I be up at midnight to get stuff out of the drier. (And never mind that my clock right now says 12:02 am.)

Moping, I go upstairs to see if I can scare up a pair of socks (or two) for the weekend. And I see the four piles of clothing. With a heavy sigh, I go through everything -- holy crap, THAT'S where all my sweatshirts were hiding -- and put EVERYTHING away.

Of course, I now have tons of socks. Clean socks. In my sock drawer.

So I'm convinced my Loving Husband didn't put the socks in the wash ON PURPOSE. He wanted me to put my clothes away.

Humph.

One of these years, he'll be my Cabin Boy proper. And then HE'LL put my stuff away, dammit...

Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot

2007-03-01T09:30:00.000-05:00

Yes, I'm making progress with HOTTER THAN HELL. Daun's a sweet talker, and the word count is going up. Hoping to make major headway, even before I officially go insane with Michelle's Write-Ons. Eek...

But there's even more hotness. I read Gena Showalter's sizzling book, The Nymph King. And oh my God, the woman can write sexual tension...not to mention sexual payoff. Terrific read. I'm pretty sure that many women have secret kidnap fantasies--where a very sexual, even dangerous, man simply takes her in a burst of alpha-male testosterone (and no, I don't mean sexually; get your mind out of the gutter). Who wouldn't want to be taken to a magical land and wooed, then seduced, by one of the most potent sexual males of all time? ::hot flash:: And I'm sure that most men secretly yearn to be superheroes or spies, to have powers or skills that no one knows about as they wander around in their secret identity lives. Superhero and spy flicks are popular for a reason, and not just with kids. (Even that rip-my-eyeballs-from my sockets POS X-Men 3 did well at the box office. But I digress.) Ain't nothing wrong with a little fantasizing. And yum, fantasizing to The Nymph King? Delicious.

Jezebel interviewed the king himself, over at Cat and Muse. Come on over, check it out.

"Get to Know" Tuesday

2007-02-27T14:47:00.000-05:00

Damn you, Bam. Damn you.

What is in your refrigerator right now? On your bedroom floor? On your nightstand? In your garbage can?

Earlier today, I had to clean up leaking chicken from one of the fridge shelves. (Yes, chicken leaks. Mmmm, raw chicken juice.) There's other stuff in there, but I'm too squicked out by the drooly chicken to even think about it. My bedroom floor has about four laundry baskets filled with clean laundry that I have yet to put away. My nightstand has a lamp, cat hair, and piles of books. As for the garbage can...which one?

Look at your feet. Describe what you see there. Do you wear dress shoes, gym shoes, or none at all? Are you in socks that are ratty and full of holes? Or are you wearing a pair of blue and gold slippers knitted by your grandmother?

Dirty socks. I prefer boots, but will opt for sneakers (no artsy fartsy "gym shoes" here, thank you) or sandals, depending on the weather. My socks aren't ratty, but give them time. My slippers have holes in them. (Ooh, Jackie has to buy new shoes! What, a slipper is a shoe. Just ask Cinderella.)

When you think of your childhood kitchen, what smell does you associate with it? Sauerkraut? Oatmeal cookies? Paint? Why is that smell so resonant for you?

All I think of is 1970s yellow and orange sunflowers adorning the walls. No smells. Probably because my mom usually didn't cook (she came home late from work most nights), and I think I've blanked out the memory of my dad's cooking.

You are doing intense spring cleaning. What is easy for you to throw out? What is difficult for you to part with? Why?

"Throw out"? What is this "throw out" that you speak of?

It’s Saturday at noon. What are you doing? If you’re eating breakfast, what exactly do you eat? If you’re stretching out in your backyard to sun, what kind of blanket or towel do you lie on?

I'm getting the kids their lunch and thinking about the upcoming nap time (for Tax Deduction the Younger) and quiet time (for Tax Deduction the Elder) and how I can sneak in some writing. Oh, and I'm observing Shabbat. (Well, not really. But in my mind, I'm all s'hmaing and everything.)

What is one strong memory that has stuck with you from childhood? Why is it so powerful and lasting?

My dad and me, Saturday afternoons, reading comic books. We'd go to the comic store, buy a stack of comic books, and take them home. He'd sprawl on the sofa; I'd sprawl on the carpet. And we'd read. After, we'd talk about the issues--what we liked, what we thought was stupid, where we thought a plot was going. Even though I don't read comics anymore (well, not regularly--note to self: BUY THE BUFFY COMIC!), my dad fostered in me a love for the medium. And damn if I didn't get introduced to some amazing writers this way -- Neil Gaiman, Matt Wagner, Garth Ennis, Alan Moore...

You are getting ready for a night out. Where are you going? What do you wear? Who will you be with?

Dang, we got a babysitter? Score! I'll put on makeup and do something with my hair. I'll wear a snug top and dark jeans and boots. Me and Loving Husband, off to WHO CARES WHERE, WE HAVE A BABYSITTER!

If anyone else wants to share, go right ahead. I'm all tagged/shared out!

Tagged!

2007-02-26T13:15:00.000-05:00

The inimitable Shar has tagged me. Granted, she tagged me about a month ago, and I'm first now saying "Wha--?" Sigh. Got to get me one of those Stop Time remote controls so I can get everything I need to do done, sort of on time.

And so...Ten Random Weird Things About Me.

1. I used to crush on Christian Slater. Seriously. I drew a fan letter comic book for him. Mailed it to him. The rat bastard never acknowledged it. Maybe Winona stole it.

2. Foods can touch, sort of. While I have no problems eating a PB&J, I simply can't eat a bite of chicken, followed by a bite of veggie, followed by more chicken, then a bit of potato, and back to the chicken again. Nope. When I eat, I eat one part of my meal completely (say, that damn chicken), then move on to the next part (the veggie, as long as it's not gross, like beets), etc. I have no idea why I do this.

3. I hate wearing turtlenecks, and I won't wear a choker necklace. Maybe it stems from the umbilical cord wrapped around my neck when I was born. Maybe I have a weird imagination. But I always feel like I can't breathe when I'm wearing turtlenecks--so I stretch out the neck. Kind of defeats the purpose of that sort of shirt, but hey, I'm willing to break with tradition...

4. I'm horribly shy. Meeting people for the first time makes me very nervous. I seriously considered bringing a barf bucket with me when I went to the Backspace Conference last year. (I didn't -- bring a bucket or barf. Yay, me!) I'm trying to get over this, especially now that I'm training to be a World Famous Author (TM) and am doing some speaking thingies, like appearing on a panel at Backspace, getting interviewed on a college radio station, giving workshops...But I say this now: the only way you'll ever see me in Playboy is if one of my short stories gets published in it. My willingness to get past being shy goes only so far.

5. Once I had a naughty dream about Anthony Wiggle. It wasn't my fault. I was asleep. See, this goes to prove that watching too much educational television is bad, bad, bad! Oh no, I feel a song coming up...

Anthony Wiggle, yummy yummy...

6. I have a slightly sibilant S when I speak. Maybe that's not the correct term. But when I tell my friends that Hell's Belles is about "sex, strippers and demons," it comes out "sex, shtrippers and demons." This really hit home when the other day, Tax Deduction the Elder informed me that his underwear had "shtreaks" in it. I said, "No, honey. Not "shtreaks." Shtreaks." Of course, he looked at me like I was insane. (Hey, you would be too if you had to wash undies that had you-know-what stains...excuse me, STREAKS. (And yes, I gave this adorable characteristic to Jezebel. It'll pop up in a future Hell book. Maybe.)

7. I met Simon Le Bon, and it wasn't good. When I was a sophomore in college, Duran Duran came to Tower Records to do signings. A couple friends and I went. I used to seriously fantasize about John Taylor, so how could I stay away? After waiting on line for hours on a frigid November Saturday (gads, you'd think these blokes were superstars...), we got in. Went upstairs. Saw The Men Themselves. Simon was there, along with Nick Rhodes. And, er, someone else. Blanking on who. Anyway, when it was my turn to present them with something to sign, I said, "I didn't bring anything. I just wanted to see if you guys were real." So Simon reached over, grabbed my gloved hand (frigid November, remember?) and pumped it. Then he said, "You'll never wash that glove again!" And he chortled at this display of wit. True enough, I never washed that glove again. (Or ever before, but don't tell Simon.)

8. I used to play Dungeons & Dragons. A lot. Like, four times a week. Active roleplay. Once I even LARPed. Mrs. Giggles totally outed me. Sigh. Those were good times. Sometimes we opted for Marvels' RPG. Once, we had to tell the GM why we wanted to be either a good guy or a bad guy. I said I wanted to play a bay guy so I could pounce the stupid good guys into dust, then spit on the dust. The GM lurved my answer. (Huh. No wonder I write about demons.)

9. I drink my coffee black, no sugar. I used to drink it light and sweet. But during midterms, freshman year of college, we ran out of milk at about 2 am during one cramming session. Since then, no milk in my coffee. The sugar dropped out during one of my "Ooh, a new diet" phases. Every once in a while, I'll treat myself to a vanilla latte. Other than that...black, no sugar.

10. Francis Ford Coppola stole my pen. Really. On my honeymoon. Loving Husband and I were in Napa, doing a wine tour. At Niebaum Coppola Vineyards, the man himself was on site. So I bought the debut issue of Zoetrope and asked him to sign it, giving him my lucky pen. He did. And then he pocketed the pen. The rat bastard. At least he didn't have an attitude, like Simon Le Bon.

Whew.

Okay. And now I hereby tag...Heather, Richelle, Caitlin, Elaine, Jaci, Michelle, Colleen, Michele, Shannon, and Zinnia. Because I'm evil.

For the Love of All That's Holy, Whyyyyyyy?

2007-02-23T23:16:00.000-05:00

I just saw X-Men 3: The Last Straw.

My brains leaked out of my ears around the time that Charles explained to Wolverine The Sordid Truth Behind Jean's Powers.

This movie really should have come with a warning: anyone who ever read the original X-Men comics should proceed at their own risk.

And this is why I will never, ever, EVER rent Constantine. Everyone knows that John Constantine is BRITISH and BLOND, and he wears a TAN trench coat. DON'T make him American, brunette, in black...and, God help me, Keanu Reeves. John says "Bollocks." He does NOT say "Whoa."

Grrrrr.

Silver-Tongued Devil

2007-02-23T21:03:00.000-05:00

Started chapter seven. Thanks to everyone for their ideas!

Basically, Daun and I had a little talk. And we came to an agreement. He agreed to tell me how to write the story, and I agreed to do whatever the hell he wanted. It went something like this:

ME: Daun, really, no one CARES how you wind up getting to Virginia's house. We're up to page 102 already. Let's get on with it.

DAUN: Listen, you may be my Creator, but I'm in charge. This is my story, sweetheart. We're telling it my way. And I'm telling you, I want the reader to see me possess the poor slob on the street and get a free ride to the Department of Motor Vehicles, and then see me possess the disgruntled worker there to get Virginia's info from the computer and another free ride to Virginia's house.

ME: No one cares about that.

DAUN: Sweetheart, they just had a full chapter of sexual tension between me and Jezzie so hot that my [BLEEP] is still sore. They can wait a bit longer for me to get into stalker mode on Virginia. They HAVEN'T seen how I possess anyone yet. They want to.

ME: No they don't.

DAUN: Yes they do.

ME: They want you and Virginia to hit it off already.

DAUN: La la la, I can't hear you...

Sigh.

Anyway, HOT progresses.

Head, Desk. Desk, Head

2007-02-22T21:16:00.001-05:00

I'm stuck.

I've been on fire (hah, I crack myself up) with Hotter Than Hell -- up to chapter seven.

And...I'm stuck.

Oh, I know what's supposed to happen. No problems there.

I just don't know how to start it.

Okay, here's the situation. My parents went away on a week's vacation. No, wait -- those are song lyrics.

Cue segue...

Anyway.

So, my antihero, Daunuan the incubus, is basically stalking the human woman whom he is supposed to seduce. He's following her (invisible), sees where she works, where she lives. Samples her life for a week.

And I have NO idea how to kick off the scene.

Any thoughts?

Hello?

Is this thing on?

Squee for Georgina!

2007-02-16T19:36:00.000-05:00

Lookie! It's Richelle's SUCCUBUS BLUES, hitting shelves EARLY!

(Next to a book called The Harem. Ironic, no?)

And look at how the lighting highlights Georgina's boobies!

HUZZAH, RICHELLE!

Oh My Freaking God

2007-02-16T16:51:00.000-05:00

Para porn?

PARA PORN?

Holy crap on toast.

That's it. I'm going to need a section for Short Jewish White Women's Paranormal Dark Fantasy Humor Horror novels.

I think I'm going to write a humor book called SHELF ME. And it's going to be all about the various categories the Bookstore Of The Future will have to carry so that it properly represents all authors--whether the authors want to be represented that way or not.

What do you think? Should I?

Champagne Amidst the Snow

2007-02-16T11:00:00.000-05:00

I freaking hate snow.

Yes, it's beautiful. Pristine. White. It's also freaking COLD, and WET, and sneaks into your boots and gloves. Snow is evil. At least I don't have to shovel rain.

(Well, technically, I don't have to shovel snow, either. Smooches, Loving Husband!)

Our backyard is buried. Our bird feeder was equally buried, until LH cleared the way for the woodpeckers and cardinals and finches to get to their food again. (Now dammit, woodies, you owe us one, so STOP EATING THE CEDAR ON THE HOUSE. Got it???) Precious Tax Deduction the Elder nearly lost his boots in the snow. Twice. He loved it. Children are insane.

But something cool happened this morning. Before LH and I took the kids to school, we saw four deer leaping over the snow. In our backyard.

Wow.

The slightly jaded Brooklyn girl in me was utterly stunned.

The slightly jaded Upstater in me wondered what the hell those deer were doing in our (pardon me) neck of the woods.

The Brooklyn girl then thwocked the Upstater upside the head and told her to shut the F up and just ENJOY NATURE for a change.

Something else...

Check out another review for DREAMS AND DESIRES: Cocktail Reviews. The reviewer gave the anthology "5 champagne flutes," which, apparently, means:

"You would be very glad if you had bought the book. Most definitely recommend it to someone else. You loved the characters/plot/dialogue. Superb/excellent/solid characters/plot/interest level/writing. You would look forward to reading more from this author."

Works for me. Plus the reviewed included the following about my short story, "To the Core":

Author: Jackie Kessler
Erotic Rating: Tangy
Title: To The Core

Wendy is a Zintal. Curious? So was I. Clearly not ready to get married, Wendy is horrified when her Zintal Grandmother zaps her back to her home and tries to introduce Wendy to her future husband. A funny, delightful read. This story, told in 1st person, is another of my favourites in this collection. An unusual, quite original plot and idea that I applauded. How refreshing to read something so different. I feel a fan attack coming on…

Ooh. I welcome ALL fan attacks. Really. Rabid fans welcome.

Because I'm So Romantical

2007-02-14T23:29:00.000-05:00

According to this article, being a romance novelist allows me to have a "life of year-round romance." Uh huh. So, to celebrate all the lurvin, I'm giving away a copy of Dreams and Desires. Come to the latest Cat and Muse post for details. Oh, and Melpomene shares a Valentine's Day poem.

Happy (heart) Day...

Holy Cats, Another Interview

2007-02-12T16:42:00.000-05:00

When it rains, it pours! (Okay, in my case, snows. Effing BRRRRRR, by the way...) Come check out my interview on Writing Aspirations!

Magical Minxes -- A New Beginning

2007-02-12T09:32:00.000-05:00

Come check out the all new, all improved Magical Minxes! Big changes...very big...

Interviewed at Balls and Walnuts!

2007-02-12T09:30:00.000-05:00

It's Smart Bitches Day at Balls and Walnuts...and Doug interviewed me about Hell's Belles! Come check it out!

Overnight Success in Sixteen Quick Years

2007-02-10T16:23:00.000-05:00

Today I had the pleasure of giving a workshop at my local chapter of the Romance Writers of America (huzzah, Capital Region RWA!) on the craft and the market. I called it "Overnight Success in Sixteen Quick Years," and (apparently) it went over very well. Maybe it was because of the swag I gave out at the end (wonderful tote bags from Cathy Clamp and Cie Adams), or maybe it was because of all the yummy doughnuts at the meeting. Maybe the stars aligned. At the end of the program, a number of people told me that they got a lot out of it, and that I should consider taking it on the road. (Woot! Road trip!)

The thrust of the program? To paraphrase author Cindy Procter-King (Head Over Heels), to get sold, three things need to converge: talent, persistence, and timing. My program talked about these three elements, followed by some viewpoints from the marketplace (in the form of popular reviewers) and finally what resources are available when that manuscript is done and you're ready to look for an agent. I gave away five copies of Jenna Glatzer's (Absolute Write founder) book, The Street-Smart Writer. And then we had an open discussion about various writing-related things, from how to write through a scene, how to deal with writer's block, and how to deal with relatives who call your writing "a nice habit."

I also mentioned Backspace as if I were getting a kickback every time I said the name. Hell, if not for the amazing people of Backspace, I wouldn't have written Hell's Belles. Backspace gave me my crit partner, a number of trusted beta readers, more insider knowledge about the industry than I ever could have gotten elsewhere, and a support system that's the absolute best. (Thank you, Backspace!)

All in all, it was a lot of fun for me -- and a few people told me after that they learned a lot.

That makes it all worth it. (That, and selling out of the copies of Hell's Belles after the program!)

Thanks again, CR/RWA!

A Freaking Fabulous Series!

2007-02-08T09:15:00.000-05:00

I've been reading. A lot. And I mean a lot. (Gosh, writers read? Who'd've thunk it?) And one of the absolute best urban fantasy series I've read recently is Elaine Cunningham's CHANGELING DETECTIVE.

The first book, Shadows in the Darkness (out in both hardcover and in paperback), introduces us to former cop and current P.I. Gwen Gellman. She's a kickass heroine who will do whatever it takes to get the job done. There's more to Gwen than meets the eye, and in Darkness, we learn exactly what that is. Lush with vivid imagery, fabulous supporting characters, and some of the best writing in the genre that I've seen, Darkness is a terrific kickoff to the Changeling Detective series. (And dude, there's even a strip club. The Jezzie in me is so psyched!)

In the second book, Shadows in the Starlight (out TODAY, right NOW, in paperback, as well as in hardcover), Gwen's coming to terms with the truth about what she really is...and is discovering some spiffy perks along the way. I tore through Starlight in one day, and God damn it, I want the third book! Now, now, now!

Why do I like Gwen Gellman? You remember when Anita Blake wasn't all about getting laid all the time--when she helped solve crimes and used guns as well as tapped into her powers, when she was a real person and not a caricature? That Anita Blake would have gotten along famously with Gwen. Hell, Edward would have gotten along with Gwen.

If you miss the old Anita Blake, adore Harry Dresden, and are passionate about gritty urban fantasy that's written so compellingly you will happily sacrifice sleep to keep reading, you will love Elaine's Changeling Detective series.

Added bonus: Jezebel interviewed Gwen today on Cat and Muse. Come on over, meet Gwen.

Dreams & Desires Launch!

2007-02-01T09:55:00.000-05:00

It's February 1, 2007...and that means today is the launch date for the Freya's Bower charity anthology, Dreams & Desires!

Here's the official information, from the Freya's Bower page:

Dreams and Desires: A Collection of Romance and Erotic Tales

True love, freedom, money, knowledge, revenge... Dreams and desires of the ordinary woman, or man. From best friends who discover love to a bank teller who exacts revenge to a succubus who loves art more than men, this collection of nineteen stories celebrates the attainment of all one can dream or desire. Which one do you secretly yearn for?

By purchasing this collection, you can help turn someone's nightmare into the pursuit of dreams. Every year, four million women are assaulted by their partners. At Freya's Bower, we want to do our part to bring this statistic down to zero. To this end, all net proceeds from every Dreams and Desire anthology purchased will go to a battered woman's shelter.

Through education and support, we can make a difference.

Authors: (in alphabetical order of last name): Jenna Bayley-Burke, Faith Bicknell-Brown, Amanda Brice, Sela Carsen, Rachelle Chase, Gemma Halliday, Candace Havens, Zinnia Hope, Jackie Kessler, Susan Lyons, Richelle Mead, Debbie Mumford, Rhonda Stapleton, Bebe Thomas, Emily Veinglory, Sasha White, Lois Winston, Shaunna Wolf, and Kit Wylde.

Rating: Sweet, Tangy, Spicy and Sizzling

Book Length: Plus Novel (85,000 words)

Price: Ebook: $7.99, Paperback: $19.95, Hard Cover: $29.95

Genre: Various

This is a terrific opportunity to not only read a terrific collection of short stories--all of which have to do with pursuing one's greatest desire--but also to help victims of domestic violence pursue their own dreams.

I'm thrilled to be part of this marvelous effort, and to work with a group of such talented authors.

Gooooood Morning, Bennington!

2007-01-29T10:08:00.000-05:00

This morning broke new ground for me. And no, I don't mean through the ice and snow (although some patches on 787, that was kind of close).

I was on the radio. ((Cue Donna Summer tune here!))

I was on WTBN 1370-AM at 8 am. Rich, the host of the program, interviewed me about Hell's Belles, writing, getting published, and comic books. I was nervous at first; would I sound like a goober? Would I do the radio equivalent of having spinach stuck between my teeth?

Well, even though I flubbed a few things (like, duh, forgetting what the initials AAR stand for), I had a lot of fun. And I listened to the interview on the long drive home (Rich, bless him, made a copy on CD for me)...and you know what?

A) I like my radio voice -- I sound kinda New York Sexy. Nothing at all what I look like. (Heh, Rich even said that I don't look like I wrote a book about demons and strippers--I look "meek." I said, "Thanks, I think." I SHOULD have said that the whips clashed with the outfit. But I hadn't had enough coffee to be witty on the spot.)

B) I didn't sound like a goober. I sounded like I knew what I was talking about. Really! I fooled him! I fooled them ALL! BWAHAHAHAHAHA! Er. Cough.

C) Rich invited me back when The Road to Hell hits the shelves. SQUEE!

Separately, I have to thank, praise, and shower affection on Devon Ellington, who wrote in A Biblio Paradise that Hell's Belles was a favorite read over the past few months. "Urban fantasy extraordinaire, with succubus Jezebel on the run from Hell, learning what it means to be human." THANK YOU, DEVON. (Psst. The check is in the mail.)

Tons of Questions!

2007-01-27T07:22:00.000-05:00

I woke up to tons of questions from readers at Sandra's Goings On, a fabulous blog by Sandy Barkevich. And I even answered the questions--before I had any coffee. Is that dedication, or what?

So come on over, read the post...and check out Sandy's blog. Terrific stuff.

Reading PM Again, Finally

2007-01-25T12:34:00.000-05:00

So after weeks of forgetting to scan Publishers Marketplace to see what's selling to whom, I came across this lovely tidbit:

Rights to George R.R. Martin's fantasy series A SONG OF FIRE AND ICE, to HBO, for development as a series, written and produced by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss.

SQUEE!

I love, love, love this series. I drool when I think about the next book (come on, DRAGONS) hitting the shelves. And more often than not, I like HBO. So...fingers crossed that this will actually come about, and that it will be good. Because then the peasants shall rejoice.

And...this one is QUITE fabulous:

Founder of the web site Backspace Karen Dionne's FREEZING POINT - already endorsed by Lee Child, David Morrell, Douglas Preston, Gayle Lynds, John Case and John Lescroart - in which extremists plot to stop an energy company from melting icebergs into drinking water - neither realizing that the water is contaminated with an unknown, deadly disease, to Natalee Rosenstein of Berkley, by Jeff Kleinman at Folio Literary Management.

Go, Karen! HUZZAH, KAREN! THREE CHEERS FOR KAREN!!!

And MORE Backspace joy:

Lauren Baratz-Logsted's untitled tween novel, the story of a 12-year-old girl and how she deals with the pros and cons of being precociously well-breasted, to Lisa Abrams at Simon MIX, in a nice deal, by Pamela Harty at The Knight Agency.

WOO-HOO, LAUREN!!!

And...dare I say it? EVEN MORE Backspace joy:

Tom Schreck's ON THE ROPES: A Duffy Dombrowski Mystery, in which a not-so-social social worker who moonlights as an underdog boxer tries to save a kidnapped girl and foil a terrorist plot with just the help of his disobedient basset hound and his four drunk friends, and TKO: A Duffy Dombrowski Mystery, to Barbara Moore at Midnight Ink, in a nice deal (World).

TOM! Dude, this is SO COOL!

I Need A Vacation From the Weekend

2007-01-23T10:19:00.001-05:00

This was a long freaking weekend (and yes, I'm including Monday). And an expensive one.

Friday night. Loving Husband is off on a work-related shindig and won't be home until late that night. So the two Precious Little Tax Deductions and I go out to eat at their favorite restaurant. (Hint: It begins with an F, ends in an RIENDLY'S, and serves ice-cream.) While waiting on the obscenely long line, Tax Deduction the Elder sees one of his school friends. Said friend is their with his mom, and they came in after us. So I invite them to join us, and the mom agrees. More than a half hour later, we're at a table. (Remember, the kids in this scenario are aged 6, 5, and 3. And it's now past 6:30, and we just sat down at a table.) TDTE and his younger brother, along with the friend, proceed to...well, be young boys confined in a small booth. To make a LONG story short, we don't place an order until 7, and we don't leave until after 8. Can you say "MELTDOWN"? And no, I don't mean me. Although I drank heavily once my previous cargo was in bed for the night. I have since banned Loving Husband from going out without me. Ever.

Saturday. Loving Husband and TDTE had been in a car accident (they're both fine), which wound up totaling the Saturn. Wah! So...we bought a new car. Honda Accord. Took it for a test drive, while TDTE and Tax Deduction the Younger and Loving Husband were inside the dealer's, wreaking havoc. Wow -- a car that actually stops on a dime. I think I scared the dealer, who took the drive with me. Or maybe his skin is naturally that pale. All that's left is figuring out the expense. Um...crap, HOW MUCH is this thing? Sigh.

Saturday night. LH and I go out on a muchly needed date. Right, sans kids. Got a babysitter and everything! Went to a terrific new place that's owned by one of LH's work friends. FABULOUS time. Got drunk. Added to the fabulousness.

Saturday late, late, late night. Kids both wet their beds. Guess who changes the bedding and the PJs?

Sunday morning. Hangover central. And we got a phone call from LH's friend, saying she had my cell phone. CRAP. I must have been REALLY drunk to not notice that I'd lost my precious lifeline to pretty much everything not on the Internet. And...the dishwasher dies. Kaput. LH researches machines via Consumer Reports; we all go to Sears. Pick one out. Place the order.

Sunday evening. Holy God, we just spent HOW MUCH MONEY THIS WEEKEND??? Console myself by watching Desperate Housewives (and giggling like a girly girl at the way they mask Marcia Cross's pregnancy) and recording The Dresden Files and Battlestar Galactica.

Monday. TDTY has a hacking cough that would wake the dead. I take the day off of work and take him to the doctor. The boy's fine; he sounds like Evil Death, but he's, apparently, healthy. Doc says he can go to preschool. TDTY suddenly has overwhelming fear of going to school and begs to stay home. Fine, fine...but then he runs errands with me, including going BACK to Honda to actually purchase the car. Silly me, I thought it would take ten minutes. Forty minutes later, the boy and I are on our way home, and LH goes back to work in his new wheels.

Monday afternoon. No, the boy didn't nap long. Why do you ask?

Monday evening. Huge freaking fiasco when I tried to get Chinese food for dinner, including me making the discovery that my bank card expired IN OCTOBER and I never noticed. LH wound up getting the food, after going to the back because this particular restaurant takes cash only, and I had over-ordered (no, I hadn't eaten anything all day except a slice of pizza at noon, sue me). So we eat like 30 minutes late, TDTY doesn't touch his food, the food pretty much sucks, and TDTE is complaining because he's not allowed to have dessert, because he chased his little brother around the playroom and hit him with a toy.

Monday night. No, I don't get to watch BSG or TDF. Don't ask.

Tuesday morning. Thinking about having a slice of pizza for breakfast. Glances at clock. Make that brunch. But that would probably set evil things into motion again. Sigh.

But some good news: My editor told me we're going back on press for a second print run of Hell's Belles. Woot!

Interviewed!

2007-01-20T16:27:00.000-05:00

In her terrific "Dreams & Desires Marathon Interview Party," the lovely Amanda Brice--one of my co-contributors to the anthology--interviewed me! Come check it out.

As a reminders, all net proceeds from Dreams & Desires (a Freya's Bower anthology available in February) go to a battered-women's shelter. For more information, check out the Freya's Bower page.

Thanks, Amanda!

A New (Sorta) Exclusive Club!

2007-01-16T14:25:00.000-05:00

The savvy Rhian commented on The Midnight Hour that I am the goddess of Hades. (Wow -- elevated to goddess status by Rhian and Nic the Writer! A gal can BLUSH, I tell you...

So I think we need yet another Gal's Group. What do you think of... HADES' LADIES? (All due thanks to Joe Konrath for the suggestion in passing, lo these many months ago...)

And if you like it, who should be in it? Go on, nominate anyone (as long as either the author is a lady, which is loosely defined as having boobies -- and no, man-boobs don't count). Tell me who, and why. And yes, Virginia, you CAN nominate yourself. (That sounds vaguely obscene, doesn't it?)

It's Midnight!

2007-01-15T11:52:00.000-05:00

I'm the guest blogger today at The Midnight Hour! Come check it out!

Top Ten Publishing Misconceptions, Or Where Jackie Lets Out a Primal Scream

2007-01-12T08:05:00.000-05:00

There's an interesting conversation still going on over at Dear Author about mislabeling novels as romance, and how that hurts the author. This is a subject near and dear to me, considering HB. I'd written that as a sexy, funny urban fantasy, but it was published as a paranormal romance novel. Granted, the boundaries between the two genres are blurring--a lot--and I definitely understand (and agree with) why HB is considered paranormal romance. But given how I am now a Paranormal Romance Author, and my background is in fantasy instead of romance, I've been reading tons of paranormal romance novels to get a better understanding of the genre in which my work has been categorized. (And hey, if anyone has recommendations on what books I absolutely must read, please let me know.)

Shock: the paranormal romance genre (like, cough, every other genre) has its own set of rules--rules, not guidelines--that set this category off from others. Now I know what an HEA is (that's "happily ever after," for the uninitiated; basically, the hero and the heroine overcome all to, you know, come together in that lurvin kind of way by story's end). And I'm keeping in mind the whole "alpha hero" thing as I write the next books in the series. (Chris Moore's A Dirty Job aside--and hell, that sure ain't romance--it seems like beta males aren't the big winners in romance novels. Huh. No wonder in There's Something About Mary, Ben Stiller walked away, sobbing like a girly girl. Wait, that was tagged as a "love story," not a "romance." Oy. My head, she's spinning. Insert primal scream here!)

But it's clear to me that no matter what genre an author is published in, there's a misconception out there that all authors have control over how their books are going to be marketed. This has prompted me to come up with a list of publishing misconceptions.

DISCLAIMER: This is my opinion. It's possible I'm wrong. Just don't tell Loving Husband -- once I admit that I can be wrong about anything, there goes the entire dynamic of our loving relationship. Yes, that's my whip in the corner--why do you ask?

TOP TEN PUBLISHING MISCONCEPTIONS (According to Jackie)

10. The author has a say in how the book is marketed/categorized/shelved in the bookstores.
Maybe more established authors do have a say. Speaking as a debut author, one who's green but learning more and more every day, this just ain't the case. My editor told me that HB would be part of the Zebra Books imprint, which they were expanding to include paranormal romance. My fellow Kensington Succubus Diva, Richelle Mead, however, will have her book published by the imprint Kensington Books as an urban fantasy. (Richelle and I have since figured out why this is the case. Nope, not telling. Read HB and her Succubus Blues, then you'll figure it out too.) At the time, I didn't care what HB was categorized as--hell, my publisher could have called it "broccoli," and I would have been happy.

9. The author has a say in the cover art.
Nope, not me. Yes, my editor asked me for my cover art ideas, which he then passed along to the art department. But I found out about my final cover design when I got the cover flats in the mail. Done deal. I guess I could have pushed back if something really, really bothered me (nothing did), but I've also heard how that's basically a losing battle. Nora Roberts has said she has cover approval. Maybe once I have like 600 books to my name, I'll have cover approval too.

8. The author picks the final title.
Sure, we may come up with the original title--but that doesn't mean it's going to stay. Yes, I came up with "Hell's Belles," and all the titles in the Hell on Earth series. And I'm thrilled that Kensington decided to keep the titles. I truly believe they are perfect for the books. (Of course, there are ramifications to this decision; not all sellers are happy having books on their shelves with the nasty, icky word "hell" in the title.)

7. The author has any control over where in the bookstore the book will appear.
You know that big table of books you see when you first walk into a chain bookstore? The publisher pays for placement there. The author has nothing to do with that. Nor does the author control whether her books on the shelves will be spine out or cover out. Some people have told me that they've seen HB get nice treatment in some stores--face out, end cap, etc. All I've personally seen is two copies in the romance section, spine out. But hey: I'm thrilled my book is in the store at all!

6. The author has any control over how many copies will be published.
Nope. None. When I heard that HB would have a press run of 14,000 copies, my initial thought was, "But I don't know 14,000 people!" Heh.

5. All the author has to do is write.
Sure, this could be true, I suppose. But not if you're a debut author whose book is not a lead title. Yes, writing the next book--the next bigger, better book--is the top concern; without that, there's little point to all the rest. But if you think that all authors should do is "shut up and write," you're mistaken. I've been working my hiney off (although it keeps reappearing, like magic, even bigger) to promote HB: submitting the book for online reviews, networking, going to bookstores to talk up the book, signings, readings, interviews, websites, blogging, AuthorBuzzing, getting swag made and distributed, selling my soul (er, no, not that last one). Especially considering that some authors (hi there) are naturally shy and blush mightily in public, learning how to self-promote is a huge thing.

4. The author doesn't have a day job/family/life outside of writing.
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH.

3. The author doesn't give a damn what readers think.
Not true. I do. I welcome feedback, both the warm and fuzzy "you're the best writer ever" kind and the "I had a problem with this here part" kind. Yeah, I prefer the former. But the latter is equally as important to me. I know, we can't please everyone. But we try.

2. The author will go on a multi-city book tour.
The only "book tour" I'm doing includes two local independent bookstores, a workshop for my local RWA chapter, and a reading at my college alma mater bookstore. (All of which was arranged by me, not my publisher.) Yes, I'll be signing and whatnot at the Romantic Times Convention, but in terms of me traveling from city to city, blithely signing books? Er. Not so much.

1. Once the book is on the shelves, the author stops worrying about it.
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. I'm a freaking basket case. Oh wait--that has nothing to do with publishing. Whew!

Giggling Like Crazy

2007-01-10T13:19:00.000-05:00

Mrs Giggles reviewed Hell's Belles.

((swoons))

And Still More...

2007-01-08T10:38:00.000-05:00

Happy Monday, everyone!

I'll be posting about the signing I did at The Book House, and the book launch party that followed at my house, later this week. I'm back at work on the day job after a week's vacation, so I'm busy playing catch up and trying not to stress. (Heh. As if. Me, not stress? You know what would freeze over...)

And now, more blatant self-promotion:

The Romance Readers Connection picked me to be one of their authors of the month -- woot! So January is officially Jackie Kessler Month. TRRC interviewed me (you can read that here) and reviewed HELL'S BELLES (and you can read that here). Overall, HB was rated 4 ("Excellent") out of 5 ("Walks on Water").

And the inimitable Bam also reviewed HELL'S BELLES, here. Heh, heh, heh...

Good Girls Kill For Money (and Lust)

2007-01-05T09:21:00.000-05:00

I had the pleasure of being interviewed by those terrific folks at the Good Girls Kill For Money Club. Come check it out...and be sure to answer my questions!

((Thanks again, Tasha!))

BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE...

Fresh Fiction is holding a HELL'S BELLES CONTEST!

Big ol' SQUEE here...!

Another Review

2007-01-04T22:30:00.000-05:00

So today I met JACOB author Jacki Frank -- hi, Jacki! (Man, I want to keep adding the "e" to the end of her name...) We had a great time talking shop, including the differences in our writing. (We both wrote about demons. And that's about the end of the similarities. Oh, and there's sex in both of our books. Woot!)

When I came home, I did Ye Olde Ego Surf thing...and found this review of Hell's Belles. ((swoon)) It's way more a critique than a review, and it left me blushing and giggling like a girly girl. And absolutely terrified that The Road to Hell won't measure up. (Argh -- stop! that! now!)

Other authors out there: Do you freak out over the next book? Or do you take it in stride and sing Hakuna Matata?

So This Author Walks Into a Bookstore

2007-01-03T21:12:00.000-05:00

So far, Launch Week has been pretty good. People have been reporting from the trenches that the book is indeed in the stores -- Michelle showed me HB alive and well in Canada (eh) -- that's it, on the left -- and Heather proved that at least one store in IL bought copies too (that's this one, right). If I can believe Amazon, at one point my rank was as high as #1,908. And I've been getting prezzies, too! Richelle sent me gorgeous flowers -- purple and red somethings that look beautiful -- in a lovely vase, and Lila sent me f-me red stripper shoes (squee!). You folks all seriously rock!!!

I had the added pleasure of meeting Caitlin in person this past Monday -- what a way to ring in the New Year! ((Jackie waves)) And I'll be meeting Jacki Frank, faboo author of Jacob, tomorrow!

So, tonight was my first-ever Book Signing. Maria at Flights of Fantasy set it up and invited me to a pot-luck dinner at her house before the event. About six of us feasted on chicken wings, celery, salad, cheese, peppers...and cheesecake, brought by yours truly. We schmoozed, ate, schmoozed, ate more, and had a terrific time. Then we drove to the bookstore.

Where I saw a huge table with my books lined up on it...and rows of chairs in front of another huge table, with more of my books lined up on it, and a single, huge chair behind it.

EEK!

Now, understand that I'm not a public speaker. I blush redder than Rudolph's nose during Christmas, and I have this li'l sibilant S speech impediment (which doesn't stop me from babbling incoherently when I'm nervous). What the hell was I supposed to say to a group of people?

Oh, yes: the group of people. There were already a bunch of folks -- whom I didn't know -- hanging out, waiting for the event to begin.

I seriously considered fainting. Pardon me -- I'm a romance writer. We don't faint. We swoon. Gracefully.

Instead of swooning, I helped Maria's daughter set up the food I'd brought (cupcakes, Hershey's Kisses, Juju hearts) and told myself not to vomit. That would be tacky. And smelly. And, with my luck, I'd spew all over my books. Yuck. Then one of the folks from dinner, a terrific fellow named Jan "Wombat" Finder ((Jackie waves)) talked to me for 15 minutes about different authors and books, and I sort of forgot about being nervous. Chris and Lonnie from my local RWA chapter showed up ((Jackie waves)), which was UBER cool, and I signed their copies. (SQUEE!)

And then, it was Time.

I sat down at the huge table, and Maria introduced me. I mentioned to the audience -- about 15 people -- that this was my first-ever book signing, and I was a bit nervous, so please forgive me if I have to pause to vomit on my shoes. Amazingly, they laughed. And I was less nervous. Then I read the first three pages of HB. And I flubbed some words. And it was still OK. And then I started answering questions.

And you know what? I had a terrific time. Loving Husband and the Precious Little Tax Deductions showed up about ten minutes after the reading, and I introduced them. (One of the audience members had her kids with her, so boom, instant play date! Loving Husband watched the youngins and made sure that they didn't break anything -- thanks, sweetie!) I answered questions, talked up Backspace and Absolute Write, name dropped Heather (there was a middle school reading teacher there, so you KNOW I was all about Eighth Grade Bites) and Richelle (my fellow Kensington Succubus Author--of course I talked about Succubus Blues).

After the questions, I actually signed books! All in all, about ten people had me sign their copies (SQUEE!) -- and Maria kept the remaining 15 or so, had me sign them...and then put "LOCAL AUTHOR SIGNED" stickers on them!

And...Maria told me she runs a book club, and that this month's selection is HELL'S BELLES, and can I come to their meeting at the end of the month? Um...YES!!!!!!!

THANK YOU, Maria and Flights of Fantasy! Thank you to everyone who showed up and put up with my nervous babble and asked terrific questions. And thank you for buying my book! I hope you enjoy it.

Excuse me -- now I have to go vomit.

Two More Hell's Belles Reviews

2007-01-01T20:18:00.000-05:00

Here it is, the day before the technical release of HELL'S BELLES, and I have two more reviews for the book.

In alphabetical order:

Coffee Time Romance gave HB five cups! Whee!

(Hey, does anyone know how to load a spiffy button? The terrific CTR folks gave me a button for the site...and I don't know what to do with it. I am SUCH a technospaz...)

And ParaNormal Romance called HELL'S BELLES "Devilishly witty." Woot!

Okay, now all I have to do is stop stressing. Who has de-stressing tips they would like to share? I'll happily entertain all ideas, from the tried and true to the rather outlandish.

Ringing In the New Year

2006-12-31T16:52:00.000-05:00

Happy 2007, everyone! Here's wishing you all the best for this new year.

And for you writers out there, here's to obscene success.

HB Sneaking Onto the Shelves...

2006-12-28T10:56:00.000-05:00

Look!!! The amazing Shannon McKelden sent me this terrific photo of HELL'S BELLES in a Borders store just south of Seattle. SQUEE! Cover out! Huzzah!!!

THANKS, SHANNON!

(By the way, Shannon's novel, Venus Envy, is now available -- I know I'm buying my copy today, when I go bookstore roaming...)

How Rank!

2006-12-26T14:25:00.000-05:00

HB's official launch is January 2! One week away...

So here it is--the Day Amazon begins shipping out HELL'S BELLES. As of a few minutes ago, HB was ranked #4,229. ((faints))

Does *anyone* understand how the hell Amazon ranks these things?

May of Milady Insanity interviewed me! (Gulp, and she reviewed HB!) And Jane of Dear Author said "Overall, this story features a strong female lead whose unabashed joy in her own skin made for a fun read." (Yes, I skipped right to the end of her review. :-) If you want to read the whole thing, including the parts she took issue with, click over to her site.) Many thanks to May and Jane for taking the time to read HB and for their reviews!

Anyway...

I'm working on HOTTER THAN HELL, which is Daun's story. Nothing like getting into the mind of a horny incubus who's completely Evil and yet somehow still a sympathetic character to take my mind off of all things HB. HOT is getting there. The pace is off, and some of the descriptions are killing me. But this is First Draft Country -- it's allowed to be ugly. I just want to get the story down. Out and down, you know? (Of course, if I stopped checking my stupid HB Amazon ranking every five minutes, maybe I'd get more work done...)

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season -- here's to big things in 2007!

Happy Hannukah!

2006-12-15T17:01:00.000-05:00

Eight days of guilt -- er, gelt -- begin tonight!

Here's a spiffy holiday link.

Razzin' Frazzin' Holidays...

2006-12-13T19:40:00.000-05:00

I love the holidays. Really. Peace on Earth, good will, yadda yadda. It's all goodness. It's all lurvly. (And, if you go to certain nameless uber-huge big box megastores, it's all Christmas -- nary a dreidle in sight. Whatev, as the kids say today.)

And it's also a huge pain in the toochas.

Take cards, for example. Now, I'm all about scaring up addresses and doing the card thing (yes, dead-tree cards instead of environmentally friendly e-cards) and spreading good cheer and damn the paper cuts and the looooooooong freaking lines at the post office. But will someone please tell me what the hell is up with all the effing GLITTER? It's like someone chopped up this model's dress and purse, added tons more sparkly crap, sneezed, added even more sparkly crap, and then puked the silver stuff all over the damn cards. The worst part, of course, is that sparkly crap is all over the envelopes, the table, my hands, my Precious Little Tax Deduction's lunch for tomorrow...everything. Gah. Whoever invented the sparkly crap for holiday cards must be the same evil pervert who invented toys that make noise. Or fruitcake.

Speaking of toys, that's another joy of the season. Yes, toys are marvelous. Me love toys. But WHO THE HELL decided they should be impossible to remove from the packaging without a blowtorch, pliers, and some heartfelt curses? Come on, are the toy manufacturers really that worried that Someone With No Scruples is going to really swipe Barbie's ultravoguealicious hubcaps off her dream machine whatchamahoozitzmobile? Me, I think the manufacturers all bought stock in the company that makes those twisty tie thingies. It has to be a conspiracy. (Has to, I tell you.)

Let's not even get into the whole Wrapping The Gifts nightmare. I must be the only person who somehow can take a square package and wrap it enough so that it looks round. (You should see how I load the dishwasher. I give Loving Husband a case of the nerves.) Thank God for those spiffy gift bag things.

I do love the season. I swear.

But next year, I think I'll need a Cabin Boy to do all the carding, shopping and wrapping.

Oh, Loving Husband...?

It's Starting To Look Hellish...

2006-12-11T17:00:00.000-05:00

I know. Bad Blogger Jackie. No cookie.

It's been crazy busy (read: I've been seriously stressing out), but now I've got a moment to breathe (read: I'm done stressing for the moment). Thus, a new blog post!

The big stuff, of course, is HELL'S BELLES is almost on the shelves (heh, unless you ordered a copy from BAMM or B&N.com; see below), and reviews are coming in. And so far...they rock.

Romantic Times rated HELL'S BELLES as 4.5 stars (scorcher). Squee! I don't subscribe, so I don't have the review link. But here's the text of the review (available in the January 2007 issue of RT):

"Kessler's debut novel will captivate fans of Sherrilyn Kenyon and Laurell K. Hamilton from the very first page. Adding interesting new characters to the dark fantasy genre, this first novel in the Hell on Earth series is sure to have readers salivating over the release of the next book. The novel is steamy, humorous and fast-paced, with tons of imagery and symbols that take it to a deeper level, similar to that of Neil Gaiman's Sandman series. Kessler's writing alludes to Dante's Divine Comedy and other elements, demonstrating that this novel was researched well and written even better. Two giant thumbs up for this exciting new author."

((faints))

((revives))

Neil is my god of writing, so the comparison really blew me away. Eeeeee!

And Romance Reader at Heart rated HELL'S BELLES a "top pick"; the reviewer says, among other amazing things, that "I've no doubt that Jackie Kessler is an author whose originality, style, and flair for creating such wonderfully devious and intriguingly devilish characters is sure to propel her to the top."

Novelspot gave Hell's Belles a 10 out of 10. The reviewer said that "Kessler writes with an assurance and verve that belies her novice novelist status."

Other reviews will be coming in soon. Eek!

And...my editor JUST accepted THE ROAD TO HELL. Wooooooooooooot!

Party time at Casa Kessler!

Edited to Add...

So it looks like some places have decided to begin filling orders for Hell's Belles. No, really. Who knew that the "January 2007" date was optional? Hey, I'm thrilled. Depending on where you pre-ordered, you could get HB in time for the holidays!

Amazon US still says it's waiting until December 26, 2006 before it ships out orders.

Amazon UK says it will "dispatch it" when it's available.

Powells.com says it will ship in January.

Barnes and Noble.com, however, says it ships within 2 - 3 days.

And BAMM says it's available and ships in 3 - 4 days.

Any other HB Shipping Now sitings?

Speaking of Demons...

2006-12-05T15:23:00.000-05:00

Man, I'm loving the perks of being an author -- especially the WOW I CAN GET SOME ARCs perks. :-)

I recently finished reading Jaci Burton's sexy (STEAMY sexy) Surviving Demon Island. WOW. If you like a fast pace, sex, guns, sex, snappy dialogue, sex, Good versus Evil, sex, a kick-ass heroine and uber-hot hero who have (yes, you guessed it) sex (and WOW, can Jaci write a nookie scene!), you're going to burn through this book and chomp on the bit for the next in the DEMON HUNTER series.

And I LOVE this blurb:

She's all curves and combat boots. He's six feet of lean, dangerous male.
Join them in a game of survival that's as real--and hot--as it gets.

((fans self))

Surviving Demon Island hits the shelves on December 26, coming at you from Dell. Available now for pre-order via Amazon.

Coming soon: the demon Jezebel interviews the demon hunter Gina. It should prove...interesting. Heh, heh, heh...

A Sunday of Succubi

2006-12-03T07:37:00.000-05:00

The perfectly amazing May of Milday Insanity has done what no one else has done before: blogged about the the differences between HELL'S BELLES and SUCCUBUS BLUES.

It's a terrific post. Richelle and I both think May nailed the big differences between the two books -- and more than just the fact that HB has a red cover and SB has a blue cover. :-)

She'll also be reviewing the books, but closer to the actual launch dates -- HB toward the end of the month, and SB closer to March.

Thanks, May!

I Love Zinnias!

2006-12-01T20:19:00.000-05:00

The lovely, talented and amazing Zinnia Hope reviewed Hell's Belles on her website. Five zinnias!

Thank you, Z!

Anthology Information

2006-11-29T11:40:00.000-05:00

Author, reviewer and blogger Amanda Brice posted about the upcoming Freya's Bower anthology, to be published in February 2007. My story, "To the Core," is one of many in the lineup. The anthology is for a terrific cause -- all proceeds go to a women's shelter in Florida.

Check out Amanda's post, and feel free to pre-order either the softcover or the hardcover version.

Huh

2006-11-28T11:23:00.000-05:00

I have NO idea why my previous post claims to have been posted on Wednesday, November 22. I posted it yesterday.

Razzin frazzin Internet gremlins...

Doing the Turkey Nap

2006-11-22T10:25:00.000-05:00

After a long Thanksgiving weekend in Boston, I can officially say that I am done with turkey. There's enough tryptophan in my system to knock out an elephant for three weeks. My bird of choice is officially chicken.

I'm thrilled to say that all my HELL'S BELLES ARCs are now accounted for -- I'm DONE, baby! Woot! My faboo Kensington promotions coordinator tells me that I should expect to see the Actual Books soon. Squee!

(By the way, my phone thong contest is still going on strong. The next winner -- to be selected at the end of December -- will get a phone thong and an Actual Copy of the final HELL'S BELLES. For more about the contest, please visit my spiffy website.)

Speaking of ARCs, I have here in my sweaty little hands two amazing ARCs: Richelle's SUCCUBUS BLUES, and Jaci Burton's SURVIVING DEMON ISLAND. Woot! As soon as I'm done reading my amazing Crit Partner's revised manuscript, I'm all over these books. (And if you haven't preordered these books yet, get cracking!)

Now, if only I could figure out what to do with all my remaining cover flats...

Any ideas?

NYC, Baby...

2006-11-21T09:26:00.000-05:00

Loving Husband, the Tax Deductions and I were in the City That Never Sleeps this weekend (and yes, I know it's Tuesday, give me a break). Officially, we were in for two reasons: One, my dad had tickets to see the Jets with LH on Sunday; two: LH and I went to the annual SFWA reception last night. While the hubby was off male-bonding with my dad, my BIL and I took the kiddies to the Museum of Natural History.

Dude.

You have not seen true happiness until you witness a five-year-old boy staring in awe at an allosaurus skeleton.

And you have not experienced pure hell until you witness a three-year-old boy pitching a fit in the "dinostore" because no, he can't get the $40 dinosaur toy.

Interviewed!

2006-11-19T08:38:00.000-05:00

Hey, check out my interview with LAP Magazine!

NOTE: This is a MySpace magazine, so I'm pretty sure you'll need a MySpace account to view it.

More HELL'S BELLES Love!

2006-11-17T14:53:00.000-05:00

Wow -- the fabulous Suzette reviewed Hell's Belles on her blog, Let's Read.

THANK YOU, SUZETTE!

((Happy dance!))

You know what? Hearing that people enjoyed my work really, REALLY is the best part about writing. I have this goofy grin on my face now, and it's all because of Suzette.

And Lo -- Another Contest!

So Richelle and I were talking about how we'll need a disclaimer that really, we wrote our succubus stories independently. That led us to talking about the similarities and differences between our two books. The result? A Magical Minxes Contest! Come on over to see how you could win advance reading copies of both our books: HELL'S BELLES and SUCCUBUS BLUES.

Anthologies All Around

2006-11-15T23:11:00.000-05:00

A big, big, BIG HUZZAH to Caitlin Kittredge, who was asked if she would like to contribute a story to an anthology...with Jim Butcher, among others. ((fans self)) Holy smokes, Caitlin -- you're playing with the Big Boys now! Congratulations, sweetie! (Caitlin's debut novel, a smoking urban fantasy called NIGHT LIFE, is due to hit the shelves in 2007.)

And, on the antho note, fellow Succubus Diva Richelle Mead and I are also contributing to an anthology, this one by FREYA'S BOWER:

Dreams & Desires (February 2007)

My short story is called "To the Core," and it features a different kind of medium than the one played by Patricia Arquette. Richelle's is about Georgina, protagonist of Succubus Blues.

Huzzah!

HELL'S BELLES Love!

2006-11-14T11:33:00.000-05:00

That's right -- it's the First Official Hell's Belles review, by Meredith Lopez of The Rose & Thorn.

Here's the review.

"[HELL'S BELLES is] a wonderfully fun read with vivid and creative imagery to satisfy any fan of the supernatural."

WOOT!

Ow

2006-11-11T18:51:00.000-05:00

Pulled something nasty in my back. Insert major pain here.

:-(

Get Jiggy Wid It

2006-11-10T06:28:00.000-05:00

Yeah, you guessed it: Jezebel has another interview posted, this one with the marvelous Jim C. Hines' protagonist of his newly released novel, Goblin Quest, Jig. Brian told me I have to start issuing spew warnings, so here it is: Be Warned That You May Spew Your Coffee When Reading.

Separately...
Couple things.

One: While I'm not technically NaNoing this year, I am working on two projects: HOTTER THAN HELL and SCHMOOZING THE ALMIGHTY. The HOT chapter outline is coming along fine -- this one's going to be a killer story. And I'm psyched to say (er, type) that my agent enjoyed the first two chapters of ALMIGHTY, even with the style being way different then that of the HELL books. Yeah, I'm thrilled with these two projects.

Two: My editor should be reading ROAD in December. Me, not biting my nails... My amazing Crit Partner told me that she believes ROAD is even better than HB. I dunno -- we'll see what my editor says. My agent called ROAD a "polished, sophisticated story," which I'm DEFINITELY not complaining about. But still, I'm anxious.

One thing about me as a writer: I can't seem to hold onto my successes (I! Wrote! My! Second! Novel!) for very long; I keep looking at what's next, what needs to be improved, what else I have to do.

I'm a VERY sick woman.

Three: Saw my back-cover copy for ROAD. WOOT!!!!! I have no idea who at my publisher came up with it, but man, do I want to give them cookies! Nope, not sharing it here, but suffice to say that I'm thrilled with it. (Yes, back cover copy before my editor read the manuscript.)

Four: I GOT ANOTHER HELL'S BELLES BLURB! Ready?

"Wicked, sexy, and delightfully funny, Hell's Belles is hot stuff. I'm burning to get my hands on the sequel."
-- JA Konrath, author of Whiskey Sour

THANK YOU, JOE! (Joe rocks. Many writers I know are avid readers of his terrific blog, A Newbie's Guide to Publishing. Terrific stuff. And Jezebel will be interviewing the inimitable Harry, of Joe's Jack Daniels Mystery Series, in the near future.

Five: Ah, this one's not a writing thing. I'm (gasp) exercising. Going to the gym. Doing 30 minutes on the bike. Drinking water. Okay, still eating chocolate (hey, this is me, after all). But now I'll be healthier when I nibble my Godiva.

Six: The amazing Martha O'Connor has tagged me! Eee, I'm giddy over this being my second tag. Hmm. Okay, five more things about me...

1. I used to be a rabid comic-book fan girl. I still have something like 9,000 comics, slowly disintegrating in their boxes. The good stuff, too; none of that Archie crap. Superheros -- you know, guys in spandex. And anthropomorphic personifications.

2. Even though I'm one of the worst girly girls I know, I used to have a doll collection. When my dad traveled, he'd bring home a doll from wherever he'd been (which I have to say was really freaking awesome of him). My dolls and I used to play superheroes.

3. I read all the early Nancy Drews. (Again, thanks to my dad, who used to read to me at night when I was a kid.) The only things I remember about them is that Nancy was a fashionista, Tess (or was it Bess?) was working on her MRS degree, and George was a lesbian. (Wasn't she?)

4. Loving Husband and I have this running joke about how Madonna and Mick Jagger are the same person...and neither of us remembers how the joke started.

5. I fell in love with Loving Husband when I was 15. (Awwwwww.) Except he had a girlfriend. (Oops.) We didn't actually start dating until I was 24. At our wedding, the rabbi got the story wrong and told our guests that LH and I were "childhood sweethearts."

And now...I hereby tag...
Cathy Clamp
Jim Hines
Melanie Hauser
Nichole Forbes
Larissa Ione

"Yes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus"

2006-11-08T13:13:00.000-05:00

This just in:

First: As of this moment, the Democrats -- now in control of the House for the first time since 1994 -- have 50 seats in the Senate, with Virginia still too close to call.

Second: OMG, US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is stepping down!!!

WOW!!!

AND...
HOW FREAKING AWESOME is it that we have our first-ever FEMALE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE??? Nancy! Nancy! Nancy!

AND...
Minnesota elected the first-ever Muslim to Congress. HUZZAH, KEITH!!!

Hey, America -- VOTE!

2006-11-06T22:58:00.000-05:00

If you're American, on Tuesday, November 7, do your duty and VOTE.

(All the cool people who read about demons running away from Hell are doing it...)

Holy !@*?!

2006-11-05T09:14:00.000-05:00

So this morning, Tax Deduction the Younger and I are in the playroom, working on a puzzle. My precious three year old is talking to himself as he looks for the right pieces. "T Rex. I want the T Rex. There. There's the teeth. There. There's the fucking nose."

Uhm...WHAT???

Yeah. F-bombed by my three-year-old son. He muttered "fuckfuckfuck" at the breakfast table later.

Oy.

Loving Husband and I (hopefully) explained that "that word" is not nice, it's a grownup word, and he's Not. Allowed. To. Say. That. Word.

We have no idea where he learned it. LH and I are very, very careful around our Tax Deductions; no cussing around the Impressionable Youts. (Channeling the judge from My Cousin Vinny here.) I'm guessing that Elmo doesn't get into the different levels of profanity on Sesame Street.

Sheesh. Or, more appropriately, holy fuck.

Anyone have any tips on how to teach three year olds that saying "fuck" isn't nice?

Dressing Up

2006-11-01T20:51:00.000-05:00

Firstly...Magical Minxes has a new look...complete with looks for Jezebel and Georgina! A ZILLION THANKS to awesome artist RAINFEATHER PEARL. Go on, have a look-see...and be sure to check out the Minx Gallery.

Secondly...Halloween was a blast. My Precious Little Tax Deductions were the awesomest super heroes around.A Red Ranger and Robin, in the same house? Ours was the safest home on the block.

As for me, well, I couldn't let the kids have all the fun. What you can't see in this picture is that my dress was too long (shock; last time I was more than five feet tall, it was back in 1987 with the help of two cans of Aqua Net), so I used one of Heather Brewer's Minion pins to pin up the extra. So for Halloween, I not only was devilish -- I was advertising.

Loving Husband dressed up, too, but we don't have any pix of him. Think serial killer from SCREAM. Yes, that's right: my sweetie dressed up as Skeet Ulrich!

Vampires, Demons and Muses, Oh My!

2006-10-31T08:12:00.000-05:00

Happy Halloween, kids! Come check out Jezebel's interview with Vlad Tod, protagonist of Heather Brewer's upcoming surefire bestseller, Eighth Grade Bites. Get the lowdown on whether vampires can eat garlic, tan in the summer, and cross running water. Also, the answer to that age-old question of whether blood is tastier than chocolate.

Guest blog on Bookseller Chick!

2006-10-30T12:45:00.000-05:00

Come read my guest blog on Bookseller Chick! It's all about Fear and the Other F-Word.

I've Been Tagged!

2006-10-29T08:11:00.000-05:00

The amazing Heather Brewer tagged me when I wasn't looking! I'm supposed to write five interesting or unique things about me. No pressure!

1. When I eat a meal, I will finish one food completely before moving on to the next. First my roast chicken. Then my potatoes. Then my carrots. (Or, let's face it: First my shrimp parm, then my pasta, then my garlic bread.)

2. I didn't get my driver's license until I was 27. I had a deep fear of driving. I'd sit behind the wheel of a parked car, and I swear to God, I'd break out in a cold sweat. Finally got my license when Loving Husband and I started talking about having a Precious Little Tax Deduction or two. That got me over my fear and scored me a license.

3. And now I'm a leadfoot. Really. Maybe it's years of pent-up road rage that's finally coming out. Dunno. But I feel the need for speed. Got busted for it, too. 21 miles over the speed limit. 6 points on the license. Whoops. Bad Jackie. No cookie.

4. I had two paintings on display in the Brooklyn Museum of Art when I was a kid. Once in seventh grade, once in eighth grade. I was a studio art major in junior high. (Yes, that's right. An art major. In junior high school. I went to a school for the Gifted And Talented. Yep, that was in the name itself.)

5. When I was 20, I wrote a comic book for Christian Slater. It was all about how I was madly in love with him and God help me, I was writing him a fan comic book. (Ah, that devil-may-care grin...) I sent it out to him. He never wrote back. Sniffle.

Okey dokey, there you go. And now...I must TAG people. You're up...Faith Bicknell-Brown, Caitlin Kittredge, Zinnia Hope, Richelle Mead, and Michelle Rowen! (Yeah, yeah, I know, Richelle, Heather already tagged you. Consider yourself double tagged! Hee!)

Still Evil After All These Years

2006-10-26T22:38:00.000-04:00

And now, THE MAGIC BRIGADE.

Revision's done.

Added 5,000 words, a hell of a lot of world building, stripped away potential Harry Potter similarities (teens + magic x school setting = HP -- the new math of urban fantasy), did some word tweaking. This sucker's done. Stick a fork in it.

It's on the way to my agent. God willing, he'll love it and then...submission time.

Before that can happen, I have to come up with...the Evil Synopsis From Hell. (And no, not the good HELL kind, either. The pull-your-hair-out-of-your-head, WTF-is-this-freaking-book-about-anyway kind.) And a series arc. Gah.

After all this time -- 17 years and three books later -- the synopsis is STILL an evil beast.

Maybe it will come to me in the morning, after some sleep and a lot of coffee.

For tonight, huzzah that the revision is done.

For tomorrow...boiling 220 pages down into 3. Joy!

(Here's to the day when editors say, "Jackie wrote another book? We don't need to know anything about it -- give her an obscenely huge advance, because we want that book...whatever it is!")

Updates All Around

2006-10-19T08:31:00.000-04:00

Remember Really Rosie? There was a character named Alligator, and his favorite song was "Alligators All Around." That's the tune I'm humming this morning -- got my coffee in hand, a kitty purring on my lap, and information to pass around. Woot!

First: those spiffy contests I previously mentioned? One of them is happenning now! Romance Reader at Heart is doing a Kensington October Book Giveaway Contest...and guess whose book is mentioned? That's right -- go ahead and enter for a chance at a free ARC (advance review copy) of HELL'S BELLES. (Or, heh, BELLS. I'll take it any way I can get it. What, me easy? Hey, I write about a succubus. Something's got to rub off...

Second: Over at my website, I'm happy to announce that the winner of the phone thong/ARC giveaway this month was so psyched that she did a little dance. Remember, this is a monthly drawing, until supplies go the way of the Dodo. In other words: I'm stocked at least until February...and I've got a very special February contest planned. More on that as the time gets closer.

Third: Coming soon: new artwork. Fellow Kensington Succubus Author Richelle Mead and I are getting new looks...at least, our succubi are. Announcement coming soon. (Man, I feel like I'm giving a press release that says: Coming soon--another press release.)

Fourth: Remember THE MAGIC BRIGADE? Well, I heard back from my agent. And...he's very interested. He had a number of concerns, and after going over various options with him, I'm now working on the (hopefully) final revisions...before TMB is good enough to go on submission. FINGERS CROSSED.

(Oh...and I decided that for YA, my byline will be...Jackie Morse. Thanks, everyone who weighed in! I have to say, the Puffy Prawn Starr name was a close second...)

Fifth: Take a look who's in queue to get reviewed over at Bam's site. Eeeee...

Sixth: New interview posted at Cat and Muse! Come meet Emma, a gal who'd be to die for if she wasn't already dead...and sorta buried...

That's it. (Until I think of something else.)

Interview with Heather Brewer

2006-10-16T22:28:00.000-04:00

You know her and love her from her fabulous blog, Bleeding Ink. She's Heather Brewer, and she's a Wild Child. Specifically, I interviewed her for Wild Child Publishing. Come check it out--Heather talks about Vlad, the creative process, getting the buzz out, and why she's a cat person.

Thanks again for the terrific interview, Heather!

Have you pre-ordered your copy of Eighth Grade Bites yet? If not, what the heck are you waiting for? Order it NOW. You know you want to. All the cool Minions are doing it...

Which Muppet Are You?

2006-10-12T11:27:00.000-04:00

You Are Kermit

Hi, ho! Lovable and friendly, you get along well with everyone you know.
You're a big thinker, and sometimes you over think life's problems.
Don't worry - everyone know's it's not easy being green.
Just remember, time's fun when you're having flies!

The Muppet Personality Test

Contests and a Congrats!

2006-10-11T20:15:00.000-04:00

Psst. You. The romance reader. C'mere. I gots two contests to tell you about.

Romance Reader at Heart and The Romance Studio are going to have a special early giveaway of Hell's Belles galleys! Check out the sites the week of October 16 and enter for a chance to win!

HUGE HUZZAH!!!
Check this out:

Caitlin Kittredge's NIGHT LIFE, in which a homicide detective is a werewolf without a pack, but she has bigger things to worry about, including the string of ritual murders in her precinct, a too-hot-to-be-trusted werewolf pack leader, and her out-of-control moonphase that may cost her her job, her sanity... or her life, to Rose Hilliard at St. Martin's, by Rachel Vater at Lowenstein-Yost (NA).

Three cheers for Caitlin! Go on, tell her yourself!

Killer Television and Keith Partridge

2006-10-10T09:20:00.000-04:00

The latest interview is up at Cat and Muse. You get to meet Ingrid, an intrepid television reporter who's up to her elbows in trouble (finding a dead body at the anchor desk will do that) and who daydreams about Keith Partridge.

I'm wondering: How's Cat and Muse doing? Do you like it? Does the talk-radio format work? What about being introduced to other authors' characters -- yay? Nay? Neither? (I know, some of you are like, "Cat and What?")

So now everyone is back from Germany -- last week was the Frankfurt Book Fair; big big BIG for the publishing industry. My agent was there, and I think my editor was too. Anyway, everyone is back, so I'm hoping to hear from my agent about a couple of projects. I'll give details as soon as I can. Wish me luck...

In other news, Hell's Belles hits the shelves in 84 days. Not that I'm counting or anything... Actually, I'm a basket case. You'd think that all would be happiness, that I'd be blissful over the upcoming launch. But no. Instead, my stomach is churning over whether I'll get good reviews. (Bam, if you're reading this, remember, I am happy to resort to bribery.) And if I'll make my numbers. (Whatever that means.) And whether my editor will like The Road to Hell. And, of course, the other projects that I mentioned that I didn't get into.

What ever happened to being satisfied with what you've got? Instead of taking pleasure out of my accomplishments, I keep working toward the next goal. ((Jackie shakes head sadly)) Which is all fine, of course. Except I'd also like to smell the roses, as Melpomene would suggest.