As you guys know, my novella Waking Kitty was recently released in the anthology, Boundless. You can read the first chapter here. When I first started writing it, it was going in a completely different direction, more fairytale-ish and dreamlike. Later on, I decided to scrap it and go about it in a different way, this time from the point of view of my male protagonist, Jack. I really had a hard time turning my back on this scene, but I think it revealed too much too soon. Nevertheless, I think this shows a different side of Kitty… a softer side.

Chapter One

The hand stroking Kitty’s hair was kind, though it carried a sense of threat. Sharp nails—talons?—scraped over her scalp with enough pressure to remind her of the danger they pose, but not enough to hurt. Its long, thin fingers combed through her wavy locks as gently as a mother untangling her daughter’s hair before bedtime. She had never felt so protected, so safe. She pressed herself closer to the creature’s warm, sleek belly and rubbed her nose against its scales, inhaling deeply. It smelled like the forest… like pine and dirt.

“Tell me a story,” she murmured sleepily.

“What kind of story do you want to hear, pet?”

Its voice was growly and deep, almost inhumanly so, and yet there was a softness to it that felt like a caress of velvet along her spine. Surely the owner of such a voice would never hurt her. “Any story. I just like hearing you talk.”

It chuckled, its chest rumbling against her body. “So be it, minx.” It placed its free hand on the bare skin of her stomach and drew her closer to its torso. “Once upon a time, there lived a beautiful dragon in a land far, far away. She had a beautiful home, family who loved her—”
(more…)

Man, look at this lady go.

Laura and I pitched an urban fantasy series a couple of weeks ago. I’m sure y’all remember me mentioning Good Touch from time to time. It’s along the lines of Patricia Briggs, but with my own voice / twist on the genre. Anne Sowards, my editor for the Jax books, compared me to Ms. Briggs. Of course, she also compared me to Jim Butcher, and I nearly melted into a puddle of boneless goo. They’re two of my favorite authors!

On Friday, Anne offered for my urban fantasy series on pre-empt — three book deal! She and Laura did some negotiating and they’ve worked out an amazing deal. We’ve officially accepted the offer now, so I’m free to squee about it.

And that’s on top of her other series. I’d say she’s the luckiest person I know, but it ain’t just luck with this lady. It’s blood, sweat, tears, and grit. Oh and motherfucking pure unadulterated talent. Hardest working woman I’ve ever met. She is a leaf on the wind. Watch her soar. Except without the ka-chunk part, I mean (those who saw Serenity know exactly what I’m talking about. I haven’t forgiven you yet, Whedon).

… or a genius (have you read her books?). You decide. Oh, and if you leave a comment, you may win an ARC of Demon Night. Sure, you won’t get for, like, 2 months or something… but that’s still, like, 3 months before anyone else does. And believe me, you’d want one.

In this post, you’ll notice Meljean talks to herself a lot. A lot. She also likes italics.

Hi, I’m Meljean Brook. I’m not really a romance writer — I just play one in the blogosphere. So when bam asked me to guest blog [ed. note: Let the records show that I’ve been asking for months] , I had a moment of panic. You see, she’s had all of these great guests, with fantastic, funny, and often helpful posts. Authors who give great advice about writing. Authors with fantastic insight into their particular market, or their books, or life in general.

So I thought to myself: Self, you have to be insightful. You have to help people for once, instead of lazing around your own blog, writing posts that pretty much have nothing to do with anything except how dorky you are.

But then I was struck by a debilitating bout of self-doubt. Self, I said to myself, what have you to offer bam’s readers? What can you bring to her blog that is any different than what has come before? Your one accomplishment in life has been reading thousands of romances (and writing about five of them, big whoop.) What have you learned from that?

And so I created a list of everything I knew about romance, with the intention of finally, FINALLY giving back a little of what I have been given. At first, I thought I would be different from her other guests by varying the format, and offering my findings through an interpretive dance routine. The crook of my big toe would be the angst of a thousand tormented heroes — the bend of my elbow a Regency-era cross-dressing heroine’s lament when she finds her daddy has gambled away her virtue to the duke (who is also a spy) — a pirouette the soaring moment of sensual perfection that is attained when worlds crash with the fiery cries of purple prose and shattered bodies and wet, screaming orgasms.

But I got a cramp.

Therefore I have compiled the wisdom of the ages into a video, designed to help those who are attempting to write their first romance novel. For the introductory price of $9.99 (or your soul, whatever you’d like to pay) you have Meljean Brook’s Five Easy Steps To Writing a Romance Novel.

(You will notice that none of the steps includes plot. My dear friends and fellow writers, that is because, before I wrote romance, I wrote fan fiction. Therefore, I say to you: Plot? What Plot?)

Meljean Brook is definitely certifiable… certiably adorable! If you follow her fool-proof plan and manage to land on the New York Times Best-Seller List, don’t forget to thank Meljean. Oh, and me. For putting up this blog post. And I prefer to receive my thanks via Paypal.

P.S. If you enjoyed Meljean’s video, you might also get a kick out of this one. If you didn’t like Meljean’s video, watch this to make yourself feel better.

{Sorry for the delay. Dumb day job. Here’s the conclusion of The Ring (read part 1 here). Many thanks to the lovely Tumperkin. Sharpe, you’re next!}

He stared at me expectantly so I scrambled under the bedcovers and removed my PJs, throwing them onto the floor. Then I patted the sheet next to me, inviting him in.

I’m not sure what I expected, but certainly some degree of skill. I mean, he was a djinn, a magical being. Surely it was a given that he’d be good at this?

(more…)

From time to time, I get tired of reading the same old stuff and get the urge to read something completely different. It happened a few weeks ago and I can pinpoint the exact moment that it happened. I was in the middle of reading Die For Me by Karen Rose and was enjoying it at that point, but suddenly… I mean, out of the blue… I just got really annoyed. Don’t get me wrong, Karen Rose is a great writer and her books are generally lush and creepy and thrilling, but then I started thinking, “There’s a killer out there offing his victims using medieval torture devices and this stupid bitch (the heroine) is wondering if the hero thinks she’s a slut because she slept with her thesis advisor in grad school? Gay.” I put it down and couldn’t pick it back up. Instead I re-read The Complete Claudine by Colette, then Pricksongs and Descants by Robert Coover, then re-read Volumes 1-9 of Y: The Last Man. Of course, afterwards, I just had to re-read all of Preacher by Garth Ennis and the Cal McDonald Mysteries by Steve Niles. And duh, The Walking Dead by Rob Kirkman (which the geek-buddy-slash-lover-man fell in love with right away and absolutely insists it is better than Y. CD, you are ON CRACK).

And suddenly, I’m all about gore. Zombies, serial killers who wear their victims’ entrails around their necks like they’re drag queens in a burlesque act, and just all around fucked up shit happening to perfectly normal people! I’m re-reading all of my Stephen King, Bentley Little, Richard Laymon (RIP), Ramsey Campbell, Clive Barker… they’re my faves. And I’m running out, dudes. Help me out here. Any recs? Gross, spine-tingling, holy-shit-that-was-crazy kind of stuff? I’m all about atmosphere and character development (I gotta care about the people getting slashed, man. I’m nutty that way). Oh, and the geek-buddy-slash-lover-man lent me his copy of House of Leaves. Haven’t touched it. It looks intimidating. But he says it scared the shit out of him, so that’s right up my alley. Might have to try it after I finish reading The Vanishing by Bentley Little.

So, how about it? What’s your favorite horror novel of all time?