Sadly due to RL events, I will not be in Richmond this weekend for the Books ‘n’ Bling event.

If you’re in the area, please do stop by and meet/greet the fabulous authors that are attending!

Hope to see you all at some other event!

My story: I will tell you it.

In 2000, I moved to the DC area from San Antonio, TX. That’s when I began writing fiction seriously.

In 2004, my first short story, The Butler Didn’t Do It, was published in Chesapeake Crimes I, and garnered an Agatha Award nomination for Best Short Story.

In 2005, version 1.0 of Matters of the Blood was published by the same publisher that did the anthology. A few months later, said publisher fell off the map and many authors were angry because we never got paid…I had a 3 book contract. ::grrr arrgh::

In 2006, thanks to John Betancourt’s attending my panel @ Malice Domestic, Juno acquired Matters as a reprint. The trade paperback edition came out in March 2007.

In 2008, Matters was once again reborn, as a mass market paperback, followed by the 2nd in the Blood Lines series, Blood Bargain.

Now, in 2009, the Blood Lines series will once again be reborn as part of Juno/Pocket – as per the schedule below.

Juno/Pocket schedule for 2009:
* June 2009: Amazon Ink, Lori Devoti (first of series)
* July 2009: Vicious Circle, Linda Robertson (first of a series)
* August 2009: Demon Inside, Stacia Kane (second of series)
* September 2009: reprint Matters of the Blood, Maria Lima (first of a series)
* October 2009: reprint Blood Bargain, Maria Lima (second of series)
* November 2009: Blood Kin, Maria Lima (third of series)
* December 2009: Vampire Sunrise, Carole Nelson Douglas (third of series)
* January 2010: Hallowed Circle, Linda Robertson (second in series)

I’m a very lucky woman.

Oh, the e-book version of Blood Bargain is now available at Fictionwise.

Thanks to sheafrotherdon:

Change begins…and it’s all good.

I have been voting since 1976. This is the FIRST time I held so much hope for change, for the betterment of our country, our attitude towards the world. This man does stand for what I believe in. No, we don’t agree on everything, but it’s LIGHT YEARS from the previous administration.

I am still happy.

Folks – I’ve been sitting on this for WEEKS! I found out at Xmas and wasn’t allowed to make it public until Simon & Schuster sent out their press release. Which they did. Yesterday afternoon. After the inauguration. How freaking cool is that?

Press release:

POCKET BOOKS IN CO-PUBLISHING AGREEMENT WITH JUNO BOOKS
TO PUBLISH CONTEMPORARY FANTASY FICTION

New York, New York (January 19, 2009) – Louise Burke, Executive Vice President and Publisher of Pocket Books, has announced a new co-publishing agreement with Juno Books, best known for contemporary fantasy novels that emphasize strong female protagonists in richly imagined contexts. Juno will become an imprint of Pocket Books, publishing one title per month with the first release, AMAZON INK by Lori Devoti, slated for June 2009.

Juno Books began its publishing program in Fall 2006 and quickly became noted in the fantasy fiction genre for such breakout successes as Carole Nelson Douglas and Stacia Kane and garnering critical acclaim for many of their titles.

“Pocket Books and Juno Books are a great fit,” said Louise Burke. “We’ve seen great growth in this category, are delighted to now have a dedicated line, and look forward to helping to cultivate a wider audience for Juno’s terrific roster of authors.”

Juno Books Editor Paula Guran said: “I’m tremendously excited about the opportunity to help take Juno to the next level through our association with Pocket Books. Both Juno and fantasy readers in general will gain immensely by sales and marketing reach of Pocket Books and Simon & Schuster, while still getting the best of our editorial sensibility.”

Pocket Books Senior Editor Jennifer Heddle will work in concert with Juno Books Editor Paula Guran.
[end release]

What this means for me:
– the Blood Lines series will be published by Pocket Books/Juno from now on
– copies of the current 2 books may be hard to find right now as the agreement went into effect January 1, but my understanding is that both books will be reprinted at some point later in the year.
– Blood Kin will be out in November (book 3)
– because it’s Pocket Books, those of us with Juno will more than likely get a great deal more exposure in the bookstores

So, much with the yays!!!

My note to Shrub on his exit: don’t let the door hit you on the way out.

HAPPY INAUGURATION DAY, PEOPLE!!

Only a FEW hours left!

I’m sitting in my DC area apartment (in Northern Virginia) listening to the helicopters traveling overhead, seeing the empty highway out my window (closed to traffic at 3:00 a.m. this morning), knowing that history is about to be made just a scant few miles north of me.

The crowds on TV are heartening. Watching Colin Powell on MSNBC: a class act! The Mall is amazing! Nothing but people everywhere. Families from all over traveling on a bus for hours and hours to come see our new President being sworn in. It’s bloody freezing – 17F; wind chill makes it feel like 10F. But they are there.

(I’m not there because I am severely claustrophobic and a crowd of this size would probably make me insane…and not in a good way).

I’m there in spirit. I’m there in mind.

Today, for the first time in eight years, I have hope for the future of this country. I am so very happy and ecstatic that a young, vibrant, SMART person is about to lead us into a new age.

So, uhm, HAI INTERNETS!

I hadn’t realized that my last post was a while ago, mostly, because I’ve been writing. Go me!

I have been Twittering my progress, but I figured I’d post it here. 6100 words in the last 3 days. w00t! I’m hoping to make 10K by then end of tomorrow (which is the end of my 4-day weekend).

I’m taking a mental break right now. My pattern these last couple of days has been:

• Wake up early (before sunrise!)
• Have something to eat while reading email.
• Write for about 2-3 hours.
• Take a break and watch Dead Zone TV show (which I’m watching for the first time, thanks to Netflix)
• Read a while/surf/read LJ, etc.
• Write some more.
• Read more and then sleep

(A side note for SGA peeps: pretty funny to see the actress who played Katie Brown in an Dead Zone ep. Canadian actors FTW!)

I totally missed the Inauguration concert yesterday b/c I didn’t realize that HBO would open up for us mere mortals who don’t have the channel. I have been trying to see it on HBO.com, but it’s only streaming at specific times, which really sucks. What’s the point of streaming if you can’t see it at your own time?

I’m staying in for the Inauguration tomorrow, despite the many lovely invites I’ve gotten from several folks. I really want to make my word quota on Blood Kin and, although I’d love to share the glory with friends, I think I need to sequester myself or I won’t make it.

OMG, PEOPLE – ONE MORE DAY!!!

First off, let me wish my wonderful mom a fabulous birthday – even though she refuses to celebrate! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM!!!!

Secondly, best news from other authors: matociquala and truepenny announced a deal for TWO sequels to A Companion to Wolves. w00t!!!!

I pimped that book out as much as I am pimping Bear’s Promethean series (in case you’re newish to this blog, for me, pimping a book/series means I tend to buy several copies of the first book and hand them to friends/family to read).

Happy Wednesday all!

I’ve just updated my schedule to include FenCon, an SF/F con in Dallas, Texas in September. The organizers invited me to be a guest author at the event. I’m happy to attend, as I can combine a visit to my sister and BIL at the same time.

Don’t forget to come shop at Creatures ‘n’ Crooks during January or attend the Books & Bling event on January 31 to meet a group of great authors!

Back from the condo. It’s nice, but sadly, not fabulous. Rent is actually a little higher than I was led to believe. Still reasonable, but between that, the commute and the fact that it didn’t make me squeal for glee when I saw it, I think I’ll pass. Will keep it on the back burner, but think I’ll keep looking elsewhere.

Oh well.

Today, I’m going to go see a condo with the intent of possibly renting it. I’ve reached the point at my current place where I’m sick and tired of it. Various reason, primarily lack of space, noise, dust, dirt, pests, mice, having to deal with the laundry room machines not working when needed, etc. – nothing egregious, just the usual problems one encounters living in a high rise complex that is designed for a very transient population. I’ve been here 8.5 years, which is eons compared to the majority of the folks here.

The plus side to where I live now is the location – 4 miles from work and in Alexandria.

Pros for the place I’m going to see:
– 700 sf 1 bedroom (my current place is 360 sf and studio)
– full size kitchen (currently tiny galley kitchen, no counter space)
– brand new stainless steel appliances (currently ancient stove, apt size fridge)
– full size washer/dryer (currently – laundry room down the hall)
– brand new carpet (currently – fake pergo tile floor)
– ground floor unit, one of six (currently, 10th floor unit, one of hundreds)
– Rent is equivalent to what I pay now
– good parking (currently, large lot – first come, first served)
– allows cats, dogs (currently, cats allowed, but I have no room)

Cons:
– it’s in Woodbridge, VA (20 miles from work) It’s a shit commute, because everyone else is driving into the District for work, so traffic will be pretty hellish.

The big temptation is the size of the place for the very reasonable rent. Rentals of the same caliber close to where I am now are at least $350-$500 a month more and often have extra fees to park or it’s on a first come-first served basis, or have only street parking. I really hate to pay $1250+ a month for a small one bedroom or studio, but that’s what the market’s like here. Moving out to Woodbridge means I could pay < $1000 for way bigger place.

There’s a great deal I like about the idea, but am still very leery of the commute. I do listen to audiobooks, so entertaining myself will not be an issue, it’s just the time that the drive will take up every day.

For comparison’s sake, my daily commute to/from work now is about 25 – 35 minutes through neighborhoods, passing various school zones.

The new commute would be primarily highway (slow moving) or on Route 1, which is a main road through to DC. On a normal day, about 1 hr. With no traffic (which is uncommon, 35-40 mins)

Again, I haven’t seen the place, but am going to meet the owner there at noon today. It could be fabulous; it could be so-so.

I’d love to get your input.