The Facebook virtual event for Blood Heat launch day is still going strong!! Stop by and leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of the latest Blood Lines book.

Other places you can find me this week:

Spooky Legends @ Dark Faerie Tales (you can sign up for the giveaway there, too!); read Tucker Kelly’s tale of his encounter with Springheel Jack!

Spotlight Urban Fantasy author at RT Book Reviews (through the end of the week!); read a special author message about the origins of Rio Seco.

Later on in the week, I’ll have an interview up at Amberkatze’s Book Blog.

I said I was going to pimp other people’s books once a week. I have failed. So, I shall perform book pimping as the muse takes me. ::g::

I fell in love with Christopher Golden‘s writing the moment I opened up Of Saints and Shadows back in 2001 or so. I was HOOKED. The Shadow Saga is a brilliant series full of fascinating characters and situations. Imagine my glee when I had the chance to read an ARC of The Gathering Dark, the 4th book in the series, originally published in 2003. I read it on the plane to Left Coast Crime and immediately got to work polishing my own manuscript. That manuscript eventually became Matters of the Blood.

Chris inspires me. He plays with characters and language and situations so well that he totally falls into the “I wish I’d written that” group. I pretty much buy everything he puts out–a LOT–including his YA books and graphic novels. I’m not at all jealous or envious, I simply ADORE his writing and love the fact that reading him inspires me to write more and better.

When Rose Wakes, his most recent release, is a great take on the Sleeping Beauty mythos. I think I read that in one sitting.

What I’m personally most anxious for is Book 5 in the Shadow Saga, Waking Nightmares, coming in April 2011.

What else can I say about Chris other than he’s a totally awesome person and a super nice guy! He also gives good hug. ::g::

If you haven’t explored his work, I urge you to do so right away. You’ll thank me later.

Well, not exactly. It’s more the virtual places I’ve been this week and the places I’ll be going to as part of Blood Heat launch week.

Cool Stuff Up Now

• Arantze at Fiction Kingdom has an interview with me, as well as a review.
• Review of Blood Heat at Amberkatze’s Book Blog

Tuesday, 10/26

• Blood Heat launch day, w00t!
• Spooky Legends is on at All Things Urban Fantasy & Dark Faerie Tales.*
  • It’s a really neat event, as your favorite characters talk about well-known urban legends. I’ll be there on Tuesday, October 26 as Tucker Kelly, Keira’s brother, tells us about his encounter with Springheel Jack.
• Facebook virtual event: Stop by, leave a comment, enter to win a copy of Blood Heat
• Spotlight article at RT Book Reviews (full week)
• Interview at Amberkatze’s Book Blog

WHEW! Glad It’s all virtual. Hope to see you all on the Intarwebz!

* I was vastly amused when I saw this title appear @ Tor.com’s blog today.

Nope, not just emotionally, but literally, as in a book.

My most recent contribution to a SmartPop anthology will be out in November, a compilation of essays about one of my favorites shows of all time, Glee. I wrote about Mercedes & Tina, my 2 favorite gals and their individual journeys to self realization and pride.

I am SO excited to have gotten my author copies last night so I can read all the essays!! There’s even one by Jennifer Crusie!

Hope you enjoy!

Not because I don’t want to, no, far from that. They taunt me, covers bright and shiny or e-ink (not so shiny). Titles floating in front of my face whispering, “Read me. Read me. Read me, NAO!”

Sadly, the temptation must wait, as I’m deep in the throes of Blood Sacrifice, book 5 in the Blood Lines series. As much as I’d love it, I can’t get distracted.

I do often get asked what other authors I read, so I figured this is a good place to share the love. Once a week, I’m going to post about a favorite author/series/book that’s waiting for me on the “read me now” shelf.

First off, the long awaited Haunted Honeymoon, Casa Dracula Book Four by Marta Acosta. I can’t wait to finish this fun and well-written series! So few urban fantasies out there have a Latina protagonist (I know, not even my own!). If you don’t already read Marta, you should. The series is funny, witty and loads of entertainment wrapped up in great writing. Marta also runs the very entertaining Vampire Wire blog.

My sister (the librarian) first turned me on to Marta’s books when Happy Hour at Casa Dracula came out. She called me (we normally email or text) and told me that I had to read this book. Laura (the sister) and I have very similar tastes in reading, so I immediately bought a copy. I fell in love! Milagro is such a fun protagonist, quirky, sexy and just a wee bit goofy. Plus there’s that whole hot boyfriend thing. ::g::

If you’re looking for a new series to read, don’t wait. This is a great choice for your library.

I’ve been saddened by the recent news of all these amazing kids killing themselves as a result of non-stop bullying. I don’t understand the hate. I’ve never understood the hate. Nor, do I understand the “they’re just teasing/they’re good kids” defense of the schools, the other parents. As Kate Harding so eloquently put it, they are assholes. She says it much better than I can.

As I read through Blood Heat while I’m working on Blood Sacrifice (book 5), I began to realize that the main contemporary storyline was about hate crimes–a certain type of hate crime. In each of my books, along with the long term story arc, I choose to write about a topic that resonates with me and is part of our “real” world. Blood Heat is about being different and unusual and out of place, and how that difference results in cruelty, hatred and yes, even death.

Being different is something that my protagonist, Keira empathizes with greatly. As a child, in Faery, she wasn’t like the rest, and therefore bullied, ignored, treated horribly. She never fit in, even when she was saved by her father and brought Above, to live amongst the other side of her family. They accepted and loved her, but she was mainstreamed into the human population where she was odd in too many ways. It’s the love of her best friend, Bea, who gets her through her childhood. Keira’s experience isn’t exactly mine, per se, but I get being different, being bullied and teased, being the outsider.

My family immigrated to the US from Cuba when I was not quite three years old. I spoke no English when I got here. By the time I was enrolled in kindergarten, I still spoke very little English, though my parents took to only speaking English to us at home so we’d assimilate. This was in the days before ESL and special classes to help immigrant children. To top it off, we tended to move every year, my father’s job taking us from city to city, state to state. Not a great way to become a part of a social group. In many ways, I learned a great deal–about people, about humanity. Somehow, I managed to get through junior high and high school. I learned how to watch and observe people. How to become “normal”, at least, how to keep my head down. It wasn’t until late high school, in Lago Vista, Texas (the town I based Rio Seco on), that I came into my own and became a stronger, independent person.

It’s no wonder that this is reflected in Keira’s life as I write. Though I don’t go into Keira’s specific background so much as the main throughline of Blood Heat, the same thing is happening to a werewolf pack in a nearby town. I’d not realized just how on target and current I was until this past week–as I continued to read horrific news items about teen suicides and bullying. Sadly, this isn’t a new thing, but just something that’s come into the news cycle–perhaps because of social networking, which shares information so quickly, reaching so many people. I’m glad that through my fictional works, I can address some of these issues, but sad that my fictional solution won’t work in the real world.

The only thing we can do is spread the word. Help stop the bullying in our own backyards. Teach tolerance, live tolerance, BE tolerant. To be different is to be amazing, unique, wonderful. Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations–a principle from Star Trek – more than 40 years ago. Why then do we continue this hatred? This fear of being different?

Let’s celebrate our differences. Do something this week to show your uniqueness. Show you care.